Defenders of the Earth  This Is Their Story
by Marzena
Summary: As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my fav show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the show. These are my oneshots for the project!
1. Death

**Project: **As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** The beginning, Season 1, Episode 4, "For Tomorrow We Die", Dale's funeral and April's thoughts about it.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Death**

The heavy clouds high up in the sky were almost as gray as April Gordon's mood. Clinging desperately to the umbrella she held in her hands, she didn't bother to wipe the tears of her face. Pale, frightened, alone, that was how she looked and felt. And for the first time in years, she wanted to be held close by someone. Preferably her mother who would tell her that everything that had happened was nothing but a bad nightmare.

A nightmare, indeed. One in which her mother could never appear because her mother was dead. And the big dark gaping hole in the wet ground right in front of her was the grave where her mother's lifeless body would soon find peace.

Her brother was standing next to her, her father right behind her. All of her grandparents surrounded them, as well as her aunt, and her father's friends with their kids. Some of her parents' co-workers had come as well, and some former friends and classmates of her mother stood together closely. Merciless, the rain poured down on all of them.

Everything went by in a blur, and April just stood there, watching. She didn't feel involved and she didn't want to feel involved. She didn't want to think about it, to cope with it, to come to terms with it. As long as she just stood there, watching, more like a viewer than a participant, maybe she'd really wake up and everything would turn out to be a bloody nightmare.

_Let's skip the expedition, Flash. It's the holidays. Let's spend some time together, the four of us. We haven't done that for ages._

She could hear her mum's voice as clear as if it only had been yesterday. She saw her mum standing at the kitchen sink, a dirty plate in her hands, a towel in the other hand. Her mum had been smiling, and so had her dad.

_No! _That was her own voice, pleading, whiny, annoying. _Please, mum, dad, you promised! You said we'd all go, you said I can fly the ship!_

A knowing smile between her parents, a hug from her mother, an amused glance passing between her mum and dad. Oh, she could see this as if it were happening right now.

_Does it really have to be this holidays, April?_

_Yes! Yes, mum, it does! And it's just an expedition! It isn't going to be dangerous at all! It will be our special family holiday, right out there in space!_

A holiday it had been, all right. A holiday straight from hell. Captured by Ming the Merciless, emperor of the dying planet Mongo and her father's archnemesis, long and dreadful hours of imprisonment, short moments of hope, always trying to find a way to escape. A bloody nightmare. A holiday four people went to and only three of them had come back from.

It was all her fault. If they'd gone on a normal family holiday, like any other ordinary family would have done, her mum would still be alive. Dale Arden Gordon wouldn't be lying in a coffin, her body cold and lifeless. Instead, they'd be at home, their own home, having lunch together. Or doing whatever. Anything else, just not ... this.

Standing there like a statue in the rain, she watched as the coffin was lowered down into the deep dark hole, and she could hear Rick sobbing beside her. Part of her wanted to reach out, to comfort him, to tell him everything would be okay. But she couldn't. She couldn't do anything expect standing there, watching, feeling lost, sad, guilty.

She didn't hear the words that were spoken, and she didn't care either way. Her mother was dead. No words, no matter how well-meant they were, could ever bring her back or help April feeling better.

"April."

Looking up, she realized everyone was looking at her. Oh, right. It was her time to go up to the grave. Rick was already standing here, looking down into the hole, tears all over his face. Feeling her father's strong hands on her shoulders, she went over to stand next to her brother, but she did it mechanically, like a puppet whose strings were being pulled.

"I love you, mum", she heard Rick whisper. "I love you so much. I need you. I will never forget you. We'll get Ming for what he did to you."

_Then you should get me, too_, she wanted to tell him. _I'm the one who kept begging to go up to space. I'm the one to blame. If it hadn't been for me …_

"April, honey, if you want to say something ..."

Her father barely held it together. His voice, usually so strong and full of energy, sounded tired, hoarse and weak. She glanced up at him, but his blue eyes were fixated on the hole in the ground where his dead wife was about to be buried. He, too, was in tears. She felt horrible for not crying.

Aunt Tracy walked over and embraced her brother, and April left them, turned her back on the grave and went to stand next to Rick again. Looking up, he slowly shook his head.

"Our mum just died, April. Aren't you sad? Aren't you angry? Why are you not crying?"

She ignored him and kept staring at the grave. The rain was still pouring down, and with a swift motion, she shifted the umbrella, allowing herself to be exposed to the rain for a short moment. When Rick looked at her again, her face was wet, and he seemed to be satisfied.

Her dad and Tracy were joining them now, and Tracy tried a weak smile.

"We'll be home shortly, you two. Just a little longer."

A little longer, yes. And then, maybe, in the solitude of her own room, she'd finally be able to cry, to let it all out, to come to terms with her own guilt. A little while longer until she could cry. A lifetime until she wouldn't have to feel guilty anymore.


	2. Beautiful

**Project:**As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check .com/ for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 1, Episode 7, "Until Death Do They Part", Cathleen's arrival

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Beautiful**

Two pairs of mysterious dark eyes, gazing at each other, getting lost in the moment, trying to hold on to that special moment, never wanting to forget.

_You're beautiful, my love._

_And you're such a charmer, Mandrake. Really._

_Ah ... you don't like being charmed, then?_

_I love being charmed, dear. But then again, you already know that._

_Indeed, I do._

She hadn't changed much. Beautiful was still the first thing that came to his mind. Pale skin, big dark eyes, the body of a very attractive woman, and long, dark curls whose color had always reminded him of the blackest of nights. Beautiful, still so beautiful.

She'd been looking beautiful the day she'd left, too. They'd been talking, laughing, everything had been as usual. He'd been happy, full of plans for their future together. And she'd not once given any indication that she wanted out. But she didn't come home that night. She'd never come home again. Her things were gone from her room, and he had been sick with worry until he'd found her letter. Then, his worries had turned into hurt and anger. But it hadn't stopped him from searching for her. Luckily, she'd always been good at hiding.

And now there she was, right at his doorstep, her long curly hair framing her beautiful pale face. Long, dark lashes hid her deep black eyes. And then she smiled like nothing had ever happened.

"I'm back", she simply stated.

Yes, he could see that. She had come back many times in his dreams and hopes, but this, this was real. He could see it, he could even smell her perfume, the smell as mysterious as the woman standing in front of him now.

"Mandrake?" she whispered, her voice as sexy and suggestive as he had remembered it for all those years. "Aren't you going to greet me?"

"Cathleen", he managed to say, still not moving aside to let her enter his home. The last time he'd invited her in, she'd left again and she'd broken his heart in the process.

"Ah", she replied, sounding somewhat amused. "So you do remember my name then?"

"I do", he curtly replied, finally not at a loss of words anymore. "I remember you clearly, my dear. Weren't you the one leaving many years ago?"

There was a short pause, but she didn't seem to mind the mentioning of her departure at all. But then again, this was Cathleen. Ever so mysterious.

"I'm sorry", she finally said. "Back then, I was very young and, well, frankly, I don't have much of an excuse. It's a long story, Mandrake. One I'd rather not discuss on your doorstep."

"I don't know if I really want to know", he said, still not moving aside. "All this was over and buried a long time ago now, Cathleen. So why tearing it all up again? Why are you here?"

"To talk. To explain. Because I've had my reasons, and because this is just something I have to do. Please, Mandrake, do hear me out."

He didn't want to, and she had to know that. But he'd never been able to be mad at her for long, and he certainly never had been able to deny her something. Fine. She'd get her chance, and then he'd ask her to leave. To leave for good this time.

"You have five minutes", he said coolly, finally stepping aside and opening the door for her to enter.

"I don't need more than that", she replied, smiling one of her beautiful smiles, then walking past him without a second glance. Always so mysterious, always so very sure of herself.

Little did he know then that she would never really leave his life again.


	3. Peace and Quiet

**Project: **As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 2, Episode 2, "Lady Dangerous". Enter Sheila.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Peace and Quiet**

It was a lovely afternoon, or it could have been. The minute Flash had taken a seat on the old bench, enjoying the clean summer air and the the cloudless sky above him, an old lady had seated herself next to him, telling him all about her recent illnesses, the death of her eldest friend and her perfect little grandkids. And just after the old lady had hurried off to prevent her perfect little grandkids from tyrannizing the other kids on the nearby playground, two toddlers had come running, trying to hit each other with their plastic shovels. The girl had finally gotten the shovel on top of her head and had started to scream her lungs out, her face all red, while the boy had been laughing at her. Then their young mother had come running, grabbing both toddlers and looking very stressed.

"I'm so sorry", she had said to Flash after scolding her two youngsters. "They've been at each others throats all morning. Really, I have no idea what got into them."

"Kids", he'd answered, trying very had not to think of April at Space Academy and Rick, who tried his hardest not to miss his sister these days.

Smiling apologetically, the woman had hurried off, taking her two screaming children with her. He hadn't really minded the kids. Better them than the talkative old lady. But seeing those two kids had reminded him of his own kids again, especially April, from whom he felt more and more estranged these days.

And then it happened. One minute, it was quiet again, and he'd been thinking of how to avoid the old lady if she would come back. Then, the ray of a lasergun that nearly missed his boot. Alarmed, he had looked up, only to see a whole gang of Ming's ice robots running right into the Central City Park, shooting around with their laserweapons.

"What the ..."

He never left the house without some kind of weapon, not since he became a Defender. Grabbing his own lasergun, he threw himself over the back of the old bench, landing in the middle of some thick and thorny green stuff. Swearing, he tried to find a good position.

All around him, chaos was breaking lose. Mothers grabbed their kids and ran off with them, teenagers ran away, little kids screamed in panic. But strangely, no one got shot. In fact, the shooting was directed at one person only, and that person wasn't Flash Gordon.

She was tall and slender, with white skin, and a very attractive body. Her long blonde hair was pulled up in a ponytail, and she ran right across a patch of grass, sending dirt flying as she kept struggling with keeping her balance. Despite her high heels, she was definitely fast, and she didn't seem scared, she was just running. In fact, she seemed rather annoyed than scared, which he found odd. Everyone else had departed screaming.

He took a good aim and eliminated the two robots in front, who both crumbled and melted on the spot. Some of the others now turned in his direction, and so did the blonde stranger.

"Look out!" he yelled at her, and she reacted promptly by letting herself fall flat on the ground, avoiding getting shot in the head with a laserray.

"Come over here", he yelled at her again. "I'll give you coverage!"

She quickly nodded, and he could see that she was getting herself ready to ran over to him into the bushes. He stood up and aimed directly at her pursuers, eliminating some more in the process, but also nearly getting shot twice himself. Cursing, he aimed again.

Then the woman came running in his direction, leaped over the old bench and landed in the same green thorny mess he'd found himself in earlier. She was panting heavily but when he crawled down behind the bench again and took a closer look at her, her blue eyes looked angry but not frightened. It irritated him.

"Any idea what they want from you?" he asked, holding up his gun again, firing another shot now and then.

"Long story", she replied, a little out of breath. "But thanks for helping me. I don't think I could have made it through the park without getting caught."

"You're not scared", he couldn't help but saying, aiming once more again.

"I've dealt with those before", she answered back, eying him. "You haven't got another lasergun, have you?"

"I wish, but I don't. Usually, when I'm out for some peace and quiet, I don't take all my weaponry with me. Which would be a problem if there were more of them, but actually, I'm a bit surprised. They're not doing much. They could have easily taken both of us out by now."

Indeed, they could have. An old wooden bench was nothing a good lasergun couldn't eliminate. But strangely, the ice robots just didn't aim at the bench.

"Yeah, they sort of want me alive", the woman replied. "And they're just machines. They are programmed to do certain actions, but they can't adapt that easily to new situations. They were told to pursue me and catch me alive. But then you came into the picture and I think they're at a loss now."

It sounded logical, and he knew it was probably also true. But it still irritated him. Usually, if he got to rescue a damsel in distress, they kept thanking him and maybe asked for his autograph. They didn't calmly start a conversation about the habits of ice robots.

"Well, you certainly did you homework", he finally said, aiming another shot. "I have to say, I am very impressed right now."

"And I feel very stupid, getting you in such a situation. You wanted peace and quiet, not a shootout with a bunch of ice robots."

She was smiling, and he couldn't help himself but smile back.

"Yeah, well. Peace and quiet never worked for me anyway. What do you say, we get rid of those nuisances together, and then you tell me how it comes that you're so well acquainted with them?"

"I say that's a deal."

He felt himself grinning as he got up again. Peace and quiet was certainly overrated.


	4. Nightfall

**Project:**As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check .com/ for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 2, Episode 21, "Love Me Again". Is it getting hot in here or what?

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Nightfall**

"You look tired", they both said at the same time. Then, realizing that they'd just spoken in unison, they both smiled.

"You really do look tired. And stressed out", Sheila commented, studying him. "Hard day?"

"Bloody giant, bloody serpent, and my son reminding me of some stuff I haven't thought about for a while." He shrugged. "Same old, same old. You?"

"Ah, you know, the usual. Family troubles." She shrugged as well, not wanting and not being able to go further into detail.

"Sucks being us sometimes, huh?"

"Yeah, well. Guess it does."

It certainly hadn't sucked last night. They'd been all over each other, holding on to each other, sharing the most private moments with each other. She'd let her guard down for a while, had enjoyed being in his arms, just being his lover. Nothing else had mattered anymore. Not until the morning anyway.

He stretched and then grimaced, and she gave him a sympathetic look.

"Your back still bad?"

"I got hit by an angry serpent's bloody tail. What do you expect?"

"Ouch."

"Exactly."

"You want a massage or something?" she asked, smiling innocently.

He lifted his eyebrows. "The minute we get down on that bed for a massage, a massage is the last thing that will happen. And I think you know that."

"I do know that", she agreed, blushing. "But you know, if you say you only want the massage, that can be arranged as well. Your back must be pretty bad after your encounter with the serpent."

"Yeah, but I'm not some bloody grandpa", he answered back, rolling his eyes.

She had to smile at that. "I certainly hope so."

He took a step towards her, holding her, looking at her. Then, he lowered his head and kissed her longingly, and instantly, she responded with wrapping her arms around his neck, answering the kiss, deepening it.

"Better than any massage. No offense."

"None taken. In fact, I'm not that much a massage-expert anyway."

"You offered."

"No, I was looking for an opener. There's a difference."

Grinning, he held her close for a moment, realizing that in an instance he'd forgotten about this crappy day. Instead, all he could think of was Sheila, and while this frightened him to some extent, it also somehow agitated him. He closed his eyes, not feeling the pain in his back anymore. The serpent and the giant were long forgotten, and even the conversation with Rick was like it had never happened in the first place.

"Next time, just get started."

She didn't respond to this with words, but her hands were now all over him, and her kisses made him forget that a few hours ago, he'd been ready to follow Rick's advice to take it slow. He didn't want to take it slow. And judging from her behavior, neither did she.

There was no need for words anymore. It was happening again, the same thing that had happened last night. Something else took control of him, of both of them. They didn't pause, they didn't hesitate. They wanted each other, and with that goal clear in mind, nothing could keep them apart anymore.

Did he want to stop? Hell, no. Did he have any regrets? No again. The tiredness, the feeling of a long and hard day, it was gone. It had been replaced with something better. Something he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

Maybe Rick was wrong. Maybe this wasn't too fast, and maybe it wasn't a mistake. Maybe it was just right and the way it was supposed to be. Or maybe it was just what they both needed right now. They were old enough. They shouldn't have to explain themselves to anyone, let alone his teenage son.

"You're thinking too much", she accused him, stopping her kisses and her caressing for a moment, looking at him inquiringly with her beautiful blue eyes.

"True." Smiling, he pulled her close again. "But I'm thinking about us, so this might not be a bad thing."

"Is that so, Flash Gordon? And what exactly have you been thinking about us?"

He whispered something in her ear which made her giggle like a girl. He liked it when she was like that, young, carefree, playful. With all those problems in his life right now, he needed a little playfulness.

"I'm game if you are", she laughed, grinning.

"You know me, partner. I'm always game for everything."

Those were the last words they spoke that night, but certainly not the last thing that happened. In the morning, his back probably would hurt like hell again. Tonight, he just didn't give a damn.


	5. Advice

**Project: **As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 2, Episode 23, "Our Secret Love", Rick talks to Sheila about her and his dad

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Advice**

"Can I talk to you?"

He startled her, appearing at her door like that, but she wasn't totally surprised. She'd expected some kind of a reaction from both Rick and April, and apparently, this was Rick trying to clear things up.

"Sure", she said, smiling, pushing away the papers on her desk. She'd never been a big fan of paperwork, but unfortunately, being a Defender didn't only consist of battles and flying around the galaxy in a spaceship. There were bills to be paid, petitions and fanmail to be answered, stuff to be filed, reports to be written. The more good they did in the world, the bigger the piles of paperwork got.

"I'm not interrupting, am I?" Rick asked while coming in, looking rather nervous.

"No, you don't. Actually, I'm glad to get away from this stuff for a while." She gave him a reassuring smile. "What can I do for you, Rick?"

"Ummm, well ... this is a bit awkward, actually", he began, stepping closer.

_And here we go_, she thought. And she understood where Rick was coming from. It was a strange situation. His dad had a new partner who he'd spend all his time with and who was now his lover as well as his partner. And Rick, who'd lost his mother only one year ago, probably felt like he was losing his dad to her as he'd already lost his sister, who'd estranged herself from the family, moving into a dorm at Space Academy.

"It's not", she firmly said. "I know why you're here, Rick. I get where this is coming from, and I like the way you chose to handle this. Coming here to talk to me, I mean."

"So different from what April's doing, you mean?" He gave her a weak grin. "But it's always been like that with us. She bitches about stuff, I try to get it out of the way."

"It's a difficult place to be for both of you."

"But I like you", he insisted, looking at her. "Sheila, I really do like you. That's not the problem at all. I feel like you get me, and you make my dad happy. That's good."

"Thank you." She smiled at him. "I like you too, Rick. And you're concerned about your dad, I get that. I hope you know that I'd never purposely hurt Flash in any way."

She placed that last sentence very carefully, shifting the paperwork on her desk to avoid looking Rick in the eye. Of course she knew very well that there would come the day that Flash would find out the truth about her, and he'd be very hurt when that would happen. She'd do her best to prevent that, but if she was honest with herself she could see it very clearly – there wasn't a way to prevent that. Being his lover as well as his friend made it worse, yes, but even if she'd just stayed his friend and teammate, he'd still end up hurt. It just couldn't be prevented. And she also knew that when that day was here, Rick wouldn't like her anymore.

"Yeah, I know that", Rick hastily said. "It's just that I feel like it's too early ... it's been a year since my mum, well, left us ..."

_Died_, she silently corrected. _Because of my father._ But she didn't say that out loud. Instead, she got up and put her hand comfortingly on Rick's back.

"It's too early", Rick repeated, not pushing her away. "I don't want dad to rush things. I don't want my family to break apart any more than we already have. As much as I like you, Sheila, this ... thing between you and dad isn't exactly helping. April hates you. Dad's world suddenly is centered all around you. And I don't know where I fit in anymore either. It's ..."

"It's difficult, I agree." She nodded. "But your dad and I, we're adults, Rick. We can figure this out. And your dad loves the two of you very much. He'd never put me over you, you really should know that. But maybe this thing, as you described it so nicely, is some escape for you dad as well. His world isn't centered around me, Rick. But despite Flash being a superhero and everything, he's only human. He's tired of all the problems. He's fighting Ming, he's keeping earth safe, and at home he has to fight on all fronts to."

"I don't want him to", Rick immediately said. "I want everything to be normal. As it was when mum was still alive. I mean, I know it won't ever be that way again, but ..."

"Give it time, Rick. Give you sister time to settle in at Space Academy, to get some distance between her and your family. Sometimes distance can be helpful. Let things work themselves out as good as they possibly can. And then, if there's still something to take care of, we will face it and we will be successful. But this isn't an easy situation for any of us. We all need to figure out what to do next and what will work best."

"I know." He took a deep breath, looking very young all of sudden, and she had to remind herself that this was a teenage boy who'd lost his mother and who'd gone through so many changes over the past year.

"You want to do something nice with your dad, ask him to grab a bite and watch a football game with him later", she suggested. "Don't talk about problems, about fights, about what April did or said. Just enjoy yourself. I'm sure Flash will enjoy himself, too."

"Yeah ... I think I'll do that. Sounds like a pretty cool idea." Almost shyly, he smiled at her. "Thank you, Sheila. Talking to you really helped me."

"Anytime, Rick. Anytime."

She watched him go and quietly closed the door after him, leaning against the wooden frame from the inside, closing her eyes. Yes, when the truth came out, Flash wouldn't be the only one to hate her. But maybe, just maybe, her advice would do some good, and someday Rick would remember their conversation and would be thanking her again, and, if only for a second, forget about hating her.


	6. Traitor

**Project: **As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 2, Episode 26, "The Truth Is Out ... And It Hurts", the truth about Sheila comes out

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Traitor**

These glances, so aghast, so perplexed, so hurt, so disbelieving. All of them directed at her. And yes, she deserved every single one of them. After all, she was a spy, a traitor, a liar, the daughter of their greatest enemy. How much more could she have betrayed them?

"How could you?" Lothar finally asked, nearly spatting at her with utter disgust. "We took you in, we protected you, we shared everything with you! And you, you just …"

"Oh, but you were supposed to take her in and share your secrets with her", Ming laughed, clearly enjoying seeing his enemies all brought down on their knees in front of him – by her. "That was all part of our little plan, wasn't it, my daughter?"

She didn't want to answer. She wanted to run, hide and never come back. Seeing her friends like that, seeing the man she loved like that, it broke her heart. But the heavy burden of wearing the mongonian crown was too overwhelming to escape from. She couldn't move. She barely could stand without shaking.

Feeling her father's annoyed gaze upon her, she lowered her head in obedience. "Yes, father", she heard herself whispering, hating herself for each and every word that came out of her mouth.

"And now that I have you at my mercy, I can destroy you all once and for all!" he laughed, still in total joy over his triumphant victory. "Let's see what I should be doing with you. Hmmm. Maybe I can send some of you down to the mines, working for me. Or maybe I'll just kill you all. How would you like to end up beheaded, Flash Gordon? Or being shot at? Maybe thrown in front of a bunch of hungry mongonian creatures, of ..."

"Everything's better than ever seeing _her_ again!" Flash spat, staring at her with so much rage and hate in his blue eyes that she felt like either running away or bursting into tears. But of course, a princess of Mongo could do neither. A princess of Mongo had to stand her ground, no matter what. She had to remain at her father's side at all costs. Even if it would kill her.

_For Aura_, she reminded herself. _I'm doing this for Aura. To protect Aura. _

Yes, Aura. Aura, who'd known all long about what her father was doing and who'd chosen to ignore it. As long as she could continue her comfortable life as a member of the Royal Family, Aura would go along with everything.

_And this is the sister I'm trying to protect_, Sheila thought bitterly, staring at the floor again to avoid the hateful glances her former teammates send in her direction.

"Lock them up!" her father finally commanded his minions. "I'll decide their fate later. Sheila, what would you prefer? Shall I arrange for them to get crushed between moving walls of steel or would you rather witness their execution?"

"Whatever you decide, father", she replied curtly, carefully hiding the pain and the panic behind a mask of stone. There was nothing she could do for them anymore.

"Ah, such an obedient daughter", he laughed, clearly amused and obviously enjoying her discomfort as much as their hate. "Well, let's discuss this further over dinner, shall we?"

She nodded, hoping he'd hurry on. She needed to get out of here. She needed a break, she needed to cry, she needed to get out of her father's sight. She wanted to scream, to tear down the walls of the palace, to run away and never come back. Instead, she pretended to just stand there calmly, smiling, not the least bit interested in the fate of the Defenders of the Earth.

"I hope you choke on your bloody dinner!" April shouted, trying to free herself from her chains, but failing miserably. That only made her angrier. April Gordon had always been aggressive, and right now she was absolutely furious.

"Don't." The Phantom only spoke in a whisper, but looking up, Sheila could see his lips moving, and she guessed what he was saying rather than actually hearing it. "There's no point."

"She's a goddamn traitor!" April cried, her blue eyes sparking with rage.

"She'll pay for it", the Phantom assured her. "But that is not our concern right now."

She was already paying dearly. The man she loved, his family, his friends, they were all about to end up slaughtered by her father. And she'd have to witness it, to smile while seeing the blood drain out of their bodies, to pretend she didn't care. And it would break her. And she'd have to live with that.

They were taken away, all of them. She watched their departure with a stony expression in place, holding her shaking hands steady at her sides, carefully hidden between the thick fabrics of her royal gown. They went with their heads held high, and most of them turned away from her in disgust and disappointment, especially Flash. April was still glaring at her, hate written all over her young face. Rick was looking at her, too. And his gaze nearly made her tremble again. But knowing that her father was probably watching her very carefully, she just remained standing there.

Then, after her father and his servants had left the room as well, she took at few steps back until she could feel the hard wall pressing against her back. Now visibly trembling, she let herself sink down on the floor while desperately trying not to start sobbing like a child.

"If he goes through with this, you can never live with it."

Startled, Sheila lifted her head, ready to get up and defend herself against her father or brother. Instead, Aura was looking down at her, dressed elegantly in a midnight-blue royal gown and expensive jewelry, designed especially for her.

"You're telling me this?" Sheila asked back, glaring at her sister. "You didn't care that father blackmailed me in the first place!"

"They're our enemies. Of course I don't care. And neither should you."

"They're also my friends!" Sheila shot back, knowing she was walking on thin ice. One word about this conversation from Aura to her father and she'd end of getting executed for treachery. "Or at least they were until now", she sighed, pushing back a strand of soft blonde hair.

"I'd advise you not to say that too loud", Aura warned, dropping her voice to a whisper Sheila could barely understand. But Aura was right, of course.

"I won't." Slowly, Sheila got back on her feet again, blinking away her tears. "I better get ready for dinner. Father hates it when I'm not punctual."

She was already at the heavy metal door when Aura appeared next to her, glaring at her with her icy blue eyes.

"I know you think I don't appreciate what you've done, but you're wrong. I do. But what good does it do? We're princesses of the Royal Family of Mongo. Nothing can change that. It's our duty to support our father."

"It's also our duty to serve the empire and our planet. But what good does it do for either of them if father slaughters his enemies? Remember, Aura – he started this war. They didn't. They're just protecting their planet."

"You already sound like one of them", Aura said disapprovingly.

Sighing, Sheila closed her eyes. She didn't only sound like a Defender, she felt like one, too. More than that, she felt almost human.

"If you let him go through with this, it will kill you", Aura quietly stated, watching her. "So chose carefully what you're going to do, Sheila. And be aware – whatever choice you make, there will be no going back."

Biting her lips, Sheila closed her eyes for a moment and nodded. When she opened them again, Aura was gone. The room was empty and Sheila was left alone with her thoughts and her decisions. And she had to make one. Sooner rather than later.


	7. Protection

**Project: **As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check .com/ for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 2, Episode 28, "As I Am", Sheila's living with the consequences of her actions and the Phantom makes a choice while Krotan makes an appearance

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Protection**

She was a princess of Mongo, dammit. She was a Royal Highness, a woman of power, a woman of status. Or at least, she had been. Now, she was just a prisoner, being held in a cell down at the lower levels of Monitor, while the great heroes up there couldn't decide what to do with a friend-turned-traitor-turned-out-princess. It just sucked, all of it.

Yes, she'd made a choice, just as her sister had advised her to. And now she had to live with the consequences. She'd turned her back on her father, had sided with his enemies. He'd never forgive her that. There was a price on her head now for sure. She'd had no choice but to surrender to his enemies, her former friends, because being their prisoner was the safest and best way for her to ensure protection. However, she hadn't expected to be rotting in a cell. Okay, so rotting was a bit exaggerated. She had a toilet, water to wash herself with, a bed, something to drink and three meals a day. It could be worse.

It was worse enough. Both Flash and Rick hadn't bothered to show up to talk to her. She hadn't expected them to, but she'd hoped for some kind of opportunity nevertheless. She'd even begged Mandrake to tell Flash she wanted to talk to him once, but the magician had refused to do so.

"He's not interested", he'd said.

"But I need to explain!" she'd cried.

"You've had all the time in the world to do so, my dear. But you chose to lie to us until you no longer could. I think this pretty much speaks for itself, doesn't it?"

He'd left and she'd turned away from the food and had concentrated on holding back her tears instead. Yes, she got it, Flash was pissed, disappointed, hurt. And rightfully so. She deserved his hate, she deserved to get shouted at, to get blamed. But didn't she at least deserve a chance to explain herself as well?

April had stopped by the cell, and surprisingly, the woman whose sharp tongue and accusations she'd feared most hadn't really said that much at all.

"I get it. You were trying to protect your sister, and in the end, you did the right thing and helped us to escape", she'd said.

Of course. April was quick to judge and quiet bad-tempered at times, but she was also very much into justice and family matters. Regaining hope, Sheila had pleaded with her to get Flash to come down here for a talk. But April had merely shrugged.

"I'm sorry", she'd said. "But I can't help you out here. This is between you and dad, and even though I understand your actions, they were still bad. You hurt my dad pretty bad, and it's entirely up to him what he's going to do about it. After all, your dear father didn't order you to have an affair with him, or did he?"

Sheila had just shaken her head, and April had nodded, a grim expression on her face. "Whatever we're feeling right now it nothing to what dad's going through", she'd stated before leaving the cell.

And so the time had passed, and by now, even the royal palace far away on Mongo, under her father's merciless command, seemed more welcome than this empty cell on Monitor's lower levels.

A sudden crack made her look up, and to her utter surprise, her half-brother, Krotan, suddenly appeared in her cell. Jumping to her feet, she eyed him suspiciously. The Royal Five had quiet a history with each other, and mostly none to be proud of. Krotan didn't look like he'd stopped by to bring her some clean clothes and a toothbrush either. In fact, he looked rather pissed. She smelled trouble on a big scale.

"Hi there, brother dear", she said, not taking her eyes off him. "How nice of you to stop by. Unfortunately, the Defenders won't like you teleporting around here. Their computer system will pick up your mongonian lifeform immediately. They'll be down here in a second."

"They're busy fighting off a fleet of roboships", he replied curtly. "So it's just me and you, sis. And unlike me, you can't leave this cell. Means no escape for you. Oh, this is going to be way to easy!"

"What do you want?" she asked, standing still, trying to figure out what he wanted and what his plan was. She didn't like the look in his dark eyes.

"To defend the family honor", he icily answered back. "You betrayed us, and now you pay for it. Thought you're safe here, didn't you? Ha! I got news for you, sis. Nowhere to run, no place to hide."

"Did father put you up to this?"

"Of course father sent me! Do you think I'd waste my time with a bloody traitor like you otherwise?"

"Krotan, I'm your sister!" she cried, noticing the gleam in his eyes she'd seen so often, mostly just before one of his violet outbursts.

"No sister of mine betrays the family like that!" he shot back.

He aimed his telekinesis at the bed in the corner, lifting it up. It was big, solid and heavy, which slowed the action down a bit and gave her time to react. Turning invisible, she let herself fall on the floor and hurriedly rolled into another corner. Only seconds later, the bed crashed where she'd been standing only a few moments ago.

"Bitch!" he growled. "Yes, stay invisible all you want! I'll just slam what's left of this bed in every direction. It's gonna hit you sooner than later. And once your concentration breaks, you're doomed."

She knew he was right. The moment he started slamming pieces of wood, metal and the heavy mattress about, she started to run, jump and roll out of the way, desperately trying up concentrate on staying invisible. As long as he couldn't see her, he was basically flying blind. He had no target to direct his powers and his anger towards. But the cell wasn't exactly big, and there were pieces of junk lying around everywhere now. Even if she wasn't hit by something, she could still trip over something, or ...

A flying piece of wood hit her shoulders and tore a hole in her sleeve. It hurt, and she could feel turning back into her visible form. He laughed at her.

"You're finished, bitch!"

Pointing his finger at the large bedframe, he simply lifted it up and guided it swiftly through the air, dropping it right onto her. She could barely create a force field in time. Shielding herself, she crouched down on the floor, and the bedframe collided with the force field, breaking in two in the process. Krotan still laughed.

"Doesn't matter. I can do this a thousand times over."

"So can I", she replied, not letting her guard down for even one second.

It was a tiring fight. Their powers equaled each other, but hers were defensive powers while his were offensive ones. And they were both getting tired. It was a matter of whose concentration would break down first, on who'd make the first mistake. Sadly, it was Sheila.

She'd been sticking close to the walls, always on guard, trying to avoid a situation where Krotan could teleport behind her. He didn't teleport behind her. He teleported on top of her, dragging her down before she could direct her protective force field at him and before she could turn invisible.

"Now I'm killing you", he said, smirking, placing his big green hands around her neck.

Was there a bit of panic in his eyes, a tiny bit of hesitation, of sadness, any emotion at all? She tried to scream, but the Phantom's large shadow falling over both of them startled her as much as it did him. He jumped up, lifting his hand, ready to defend himself. She stayed down, trying to catch her breath again, her heart thundering at an alarming rate, her body drenched in sweat.

"Stay out of this!" Krotan growled at the Phantom.

"Not likely. She's our prisoner."

"She's a goddamn traitor!"

"True. Our goddamn traitor."

She heard other noises, and looking up, she saw the rest of the Defenders of the Earth standing outside her cell. Both Lothar and LJ were flanking her open door, and April had her lasergun ready in her hand. Flash and Rick were there as well. Rick stood in the back, avoiding having to look at her. Flash didn't look at her either. He was watching the Phantom and Krotan, his expression stoney.

"Your brother just tried to kill you?" the Phantom asked, ignoring Krotan and looking over at Sheila who was just getting on her feet again, steadying herself by grabbing a piece of the broken bedframe.

"No, we were just having a party and trashed the place", she shot back, glaring at him. Right now, she didn't care that she had to remain in their good graces. She was pissed. Mostly with herself for letting Krotan have an advantage over her.

"I see. You do this often?"

"Once in a while", she replied, trying to shrug, but her shoulder hurt, so she gave up on that again. "We're not exactly what you'd call close."

"We could be, if you weren't a bloody traitor!" he snapped at her. "Thanks to you, father's making my life a living hell up there!"

"Your army of roboships lies scattered all around Monitor", Lothar scornfully interjected. "So I guess that won't be of any further help in your relationship with your father, Prince of Mongo."

He growled again. "You've not seen the last of me, bitch!" he spat at her. "You've made your choice against us, now you live with it. Next time, your friends can pick up your broken bones."

"We're not her friends", Rick's icy voice stated, and looking up, Sheila received the hateful, hurt and disappointed look she'd feared all along.

"Good. Then it will be even easier", Krotan smirked.

"No, it won't." The Phantom stepped up again, blocking Krotan's view at his sister. "Because from now on, your sister is under my protection. You hurt her, I'll hunt you down myself."

Stunned silence greeted this announcement, and no one was more surprised than Sheila herself. Leaning against the wall, her every bone aching, she blinked, wondering if she'd heard correctly.

"Phantom? Are you sure?"

"She's the enemy!"

"She's in our care, and she's nearly been killed. By her own brother. Doesn't that tell you something? I'm a firm believer in second chances. I'm also a firm believer in fairness and justice. And whatever Sheila might deserve, it isn't being chocked in a cell down here by her own brother", the Phantom firmly said.

Again this was followed his silence, and then Krotan laughed maliciously.

"Yeah, go ahead, protect her for all I care!" he said. "In the end, even you can't protect her forever. And in the long run, Phantom, whose side will you chose – those of your teammates and friends or those of my traitorous older sister?"

Closing her eyes, Sheila already knew the answer, and obviously, Krotan thought he knew it too, because he didn't wait for the Phantom to answer. He just teleported out of the cell and out of Monitor, leaving Sheila and the Phantom behind in the wrecked cell. And somehow, Sheila had a feeling that her problems had only just begun.


	8. The Prodigal Daughter

**Project: **As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check .com/ for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 2, Episode 33, "Family Reunion", Meet Amy.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**The Prodigal Daughter**

She got out of the cab and paid the driver after he'd unloaded her luggage. He glanced at her, clearly noticing her nervousness and discomfort.

"Shall I wait, Miss?" he politely asked.

She shook her head. Him waiting would give her the perfect opportunity to turn around and leave again, and that wasn't something she wanted to do. She needed to do something. She had a plan. She wouldn't give up now, and because she knew herself, she'd make sure that she didn't even have the opportunity to turn away.

"No, it's okay", she said, trying to sound confident. "I'll be fine."

"Visiting friends here?" he cabdriver asked, eying the tremendous mansion and apparently finding himself greatly impressed with what he saw.

"Family", she answered shortly, hoping he'd get that she wasn't interested in smalltalk.

He nodded again, looking back to the house once more and then finally getting back in his smelly cab.

"Must be some kind of family", he commented, and when she ignored that, he finally drove way, leaving her behind on the sidewalk, right next to her two suitcases and her backpack.

Yeah, some kind of family who didn't even know of her existence. At least she didn't think they did. Or rather, he did. As far as she knew, her mother had kept her a secret for quite some time. But her mother was dead now. Times had changed. And little Amy O'Connor was all grown up now. Or at least, 14 years old. That was old enough to make some decisions about her future.

Watching the cab driving away made her realize once more that she was totally on her own now. Well, not that that talkative cabdriver would have been much help anyway, but at least he'd provided the opportunity to turn back. _Which I'm not going to. That's why I sent him away in the first place_, she reminded herself.

If only that house wouldn't be so big and so intimidating. If she'd been standing in front of a small house with a tiny front-yard or even an apartment complex, it wouldn't have been so bad. But she hadn't expected, well, _this_. Her mother had never once told her that her father was loaded. Living like this, he surely would have to be loaded. If it was his own house. Other people were living here as well. Maybe the house belonged to one of them.

It was surrounded with big gardens, and a high brick wall secured the place from curious looks from the outside. The wrought-iron front gate however was open, and a long winding driveway led straight up to the mansion, three stories tall, with it's white walls, big framed windows and the wooden double-doors where a flight of steps led to. In front of the house was a wide open space where several cars were parked, and a rather big building, assumingly a garage, had been built at the other side of the big courtyard. Two big and heavy stoney gargoyles seemed to watch over the house and surely made it look a bit creepy when walking towards it in the middle of the night.

Grabbing her suitcases, she started to walk towards the house, not really knowing what to expect. She half expected the gargoyle-statues to turn into real gargoyles, flying towards her, chasing her out, telling her that she had no business being here, that she was not welcome and nor would she ever be. _You're not family!_ _Wrong. I am. I'm going to belong here. I have a right to be here. This is where I should have grown up in the first place._

Trying to concentrate on something else, she looked further around, studying the big mountain off to the right of the mansion. This must be the volcano Google Earth had mentioned. It was apparently still active, but there hadn't been any volcanic eruption in this area for many, many years. Still, how weird was that, living next to an active volcano?

The closer she got to the house, the more she slowed down. When she reached the gargoyles, she nearly turned and ran. But somehow, she gathered enough courage to keep walking over to the steps that led up to the wide wooden doors. Finally. She was here.

But of course, standing in front of the closed door didn't help. She had to make a move before someone discovered her standing out there with her luggage, thinking she was a crazy stalker or something.

_Hi. My name is Amy, and I am your daughter._

_Hi. You once knew someone named Cathleen O'Connor. I'm her daughter._

_I'm Amy O'Connor. Guess what? I'm your daughter._

The more she thought about a decent introduction, the more she felt the pressure building up. Biting her lip, she put both suitcases down. She had to act now, or she'd drive herself crazy. Her hands were all sweaty and she felt hot, although it was a rather cool day. Nervous, she tried to put her messy black hair back into the ponytail but gave it up after a while and decided to leave it falling down her shoulders. It wouldn't matter anyway.

Taking a deep breath, she knocked at the door, half expecting it to remain closed. But it only took half a minute before a little asian-looking boy opened the door, eying her curiously.

"Can I help you?" he asked politely.

"Ummm, kinda", she replied, nervously shoving her hands into the pockets of her denim jacket to prevent them from shaking. "I'm looking for someone, actually."

"Well, odds are probably in your favor, since quite a few people are living here", the boy grinned. "Wanna give me a name? Or, let me guess, probably Rick or LJ? Did they forget a date or something? Or are you a friend of Jedda's from school? A friend of April's from Space Academy?"

The names did all sound unfamiliar and didn't ring a bell. Amy shook her head. No, she didn't know any of them yet. But they were probably her age or younger, since school and Space Academy had been mentioned by the boy.

"I'm looking for Mandrake the Magician", she finally managed to get out.

The boy looked surprised. "Mandrake, huh? He's somewhere in his study. Who can I tell him is looking for him? He's not going to subscribe to another newspaper or something." His gaze dropped to her suitcases. "Or whatever else you're selling."

"I'm not selling anything", she assured him. And, taking a deep breath, she looked the boy in the eyes, afraid she'd back off as soon as he was gone fetching Mandrake. "He and I have a common acquaintance. My mother, actually."

"Your mother?" the boy asked, sounding confused.

"Cathleen O'Connor", she managed to get out, her gaze still fixated on the boy.

Suddenly, all color seemed to drain from his face. He took hold of the doorframe, staring at her, probably seeing what she saw everyday when looking into a mirror. A pale face which would have made Snow White jealous, dark eyes, very long, dark, curly hair, full red lips. She looked like a younger version of her mother, and apparently, the boy had known Cathleen, because he seemed to realize that now, too.

"Woah", he whispered. And then he suddenly stepped away from the doorway. "Please, do come in. I'll go get Mandrake."

She nodded, carrying her suitcases into a great marmoreal hall from where a big, broad staircase led further upstairs and heavy wooden doors led into other rooms.

The boy closed the doors behind her. "I'll be right back", he said. And then, after giving her another glance, he turned and ran away.

_Hi, I'm Amy O'Connor. And I am your daughter._


	9. Powers

**Project: **As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 2, Episode 37, "She's Not What You Think", someone has powers ...

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Powers**

"What are you doing?"

With a thunderous clash, the dishes tumbled down on the floor, and whirling around, Amy found herself face to face with an astonished Kshin. Paling, she took a step back and nearly stumbled over a broken plate.

"I. ... I ... I was just ..."

"You've been piling up dirty dishes in the air", Kshin stated matter-of-factly.

"Kind of. I was just trying to get everything into the kitchen at once."

There was really no point in denying what she just did. He'd seen her, and unfortunately, while she actually could see into the future, minor stuff like that never revealed itself to her. If she'd known he'd enter the bloody dining hall while she was using her telekinesis on the dirty dishes, she'd have carried them on a tray, using her hands.

"Okay ..." Curious, Kshin came closer. "I didn't know you could do that."

Nobody knew. She hadn't told anyone yet and she'd hoped the powers she'd inherited from both her magical parents would go undetected for a while. She was just settling in at the mansion and she was just beginning to get to know Mandrake, Kshin and their friends. It was hard enough being an ordinary girl among a bunch of superheroes with special abilities. Being a powerful freak herself, well, she couldn't see how that would be of any help.

"Well ..."

"Why didn't you tell me? Or anyone, for that matter? Does Mandrake know?"

The questions kept coming at her, but the excited look on Kshin's face made her decide not to be pissed at him. After all, it was her own fault. They'd been having dinner together when Dynak X had sounded the alarm, making everyone of them running off to Monitor. Amy had remained behind. She wasn't a member of the Defenders of the Earth. She'd no place running off behind the others. But she had assumed that Kshin had done so. That was why she'd been using her powers to carry the dishes back into the kitchen. But obviously, Kshin had been send back.

"Nobody knows", she said defensively.

"But why?" Kshin asked back. "I think telekinesis is a fascinating power! And it's Mandrakes power as well. That could be something for the two of you to connect over."

She bit her lip. Even little Kshin had noticed that Mandrake treated her like a stranger and that she did the same. They stayed out of each others way, not quite knowing how to connect and what to do with each other. When she'd come here, she'd thought it would be easier. Well, she'd been wrong.

"I will tell him", she assured him.

And she would. Someday, when she'd feel more comfortable around him and at home in this place. Right now, she still felt like a stranger. And if powers would change that, it would probably mean that the powers were more interesting and valuable to him than the daughter.

"When?" Kshin promptly asked.

"Someday", she snapped, folding her arms defensively. "I just don't want to do it right now. I want to get him to know me as a daughter first and as a being with magical powers later."

"You don't want him to get to know you at all", he accused her. "Otherwise you'd have gone to have a long talk with him ages ago. You're living here, but you're not really living with us. We don't know you, and it seems like you don't want us to."

She blinked at getting such a speech from such a young boy. But then again, he was right. She knew it herself. Mandrake wasn't entirely to blame that there was no connection between them. She never made any efforts either. Maybe it was because of Kshin. Seeing Mandrake with another kid hadn't been what she'd expected. And seeing those two so close, she'd instantly given up the hope that one day she'd be as close to her father as Kshin was. But this wasn't Kshin's fault, and nor it was his problem. Mandrake had welcomed her into his home. He had offered her a place in his life. That meant something.

But of course, there was the small matter of her wanting revenge on Ming the Merciless for killing her mother. Somehow, she didn't think that this would go down well with Mandrake. And somehow, being known for having powers would automatically put her in the spotlight. That would be a drawback for her revenge-planing as well. And furthermore ... yes – she was afraid, too. Afraid of not being good enough, of not being powerful enough, of not being perfect enough. At least as the ordinary teenage daughter, she wouldn't have to compare with DoE-status.

But, so she reminded herself, none of this actually was Kshin's fault. He'd proven a good friend. He'd welcomed her, tried to befriend her, showed her around.

_It's pretty cool to have a sister all of sudden_, he'd said.

Well, maybe it was time to treat him like a brother, too.

"Will you keep this to yourself, please?" she asked, sending him a pleading look.

"If I don't have to give an explanation about the broken dishes, fine", he sighed. "But I really do think you should tell Mandrake. Or someone else, if you don't trust Mandrake that much yet."

"I don't really know any of them too well", she reminded him. "But I guess I will tell them when the time is right. I promise."

"Fine, I'll keep your secret", he answered. "It's really a cool power. I do wish I had powers too!"

"I'll tell you a secret", she whispered, leaning down towards him. "I've got another power as well. My mum trained me a bit. I'm not really good yet, but I've got a trick or two up my sleeve."

"Really?" His eyes started to sparkle. "What are your other powers? Can you show me?"

Grinning, she stepped forward, suddenly feeling a lot more involved and at home than before. Maybe having a friend here, even if it was a little boy like Kshin, did made an awful lot of a difference.

"Help me clean up this mess here first, will you?" she pleadingly asked. "And then I can show you something, if you want to."

"Cool!" he exclaimed, and together, both of Mandrake's children started to gather up broken dishes all around the dining hall.


	10. Dreamwalk

**Project: **As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check .com/ for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 2, Episode 43, "Enter The Enchanted", When Jedda's caught in a nightmare, Amy has to reveal her dreamwalking powers in order to save her

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Dreamwalk**

"How is she?" Kshin whispered, standing next to Amy in the corner of Jedda's bedroom, trying to get a good view of the bed in the corner, where Jedda Walker's body was resting on the mattress.

The other Defenders were in the room too, and they all looked worried. Phantom sat next to Jedda's bed, holding her hand, not leaving her side for even one minute. Rick was standing pretty close to the bed as well, and so was Mandrake, who had several books of magic next to him, trying to figure out a way to help Jedda to leave her nightmare.

"Please, Kshin, I need to concentrate", Mandrake replied rather sharply, flipping another page in the ancient-looking book he was holding.

"There has to be a way to get her out of this state", Phantom said, holding Jedda's hand tighter. "She's sweating. I can feel her panic rising. Whatever she's going through must be horrifying."

"It's been happening to all of us last night, but apparently, Jedda was affected most", Sheila stated, standing apart from the team as she usually did these days.

"Must be due to her empathic powers", Phantom replied. "And once whatever is controlling her had her in its power, it let the rest of us go. If only there was a way to help her to wake up. She's getting weaker by the minute, Mandrake. We have to do something!"

Indeed, Jedda was just lying there, her whole body covered in sweat. Her eyes were closed and she lay absolutely still, her face as white as a wall. And it seemed like she was losing energy by the minute. Nobody said it out loud, but they all knew if they couldn't figure out a way to help Jedda, she wouldn't survive the day.

When Kshin tugged at her sleeve, Amy turned, and he took her arm and dragged her out of Jedda's room into the empty hallway.

"You could try to save her!" he told her immediately. "I bet you'd be able to!"

She bit her lip. Yes, she'd been thinking about that, too. She'd come to like Jedda very much and she wanted her to be safe, happy and alive. But unfortunately, there was no guarantee that Amy would be able to just dreamwalk in there. For all they knew, she could only make things worse or end up in a similar state than Jedda was in. Also, she wasn't even trained properly. She wouldn't really know what to do and when to do it, and in case of an emergency, she had no training or real experience to rely upon. For the first time, she regretted not telling Mandrake about her powers. If she had, maybe he would have helped her figuring them out. And they could have worked together to save Jedda. She would have made him proud, like Jedda and April made their dads proud.

"I don't know, Kshin", she sighed. "I mean, I want to, of course I do. But I don't have experience or training, nor can I control or understand my powers. I could make things worse!"

"But Jedda's really sick! She needs your help!" Kshin exclaimed. "Mandrake's books aren't offering any help. You could at least try! You tried with Sophie!"

Sophie had been a quiet girl from Kshin's school who Kshin had wanted to help with some personal stuff. In order to find out what was going on with her, Kshin had enlisted Amy's help to invade Sophie's dreams. For the first time, Amy had managed to not only walk around in a dream but actually to take someone else – Kshin – with her. They'd tried to influence Sophie via dreamscape to face her fears, but in the end, Kshin had reached out to the girl in person. Nevertheless, this experience had made Amy want to understand her dreamwalk-power more, so she had experimented a bit with it, but not as much as she probably should have.

"But that was different", Amy tried to explain. "Sophie was just dreaming. She wasn't held in dreamworld by whatever force against her will."

"Why are you so scared?" Kshin shot back, glaring at her. "Jedda's in danger, and if I had a power to help, I would go in there and just do that! She's probably going to die, Amy!"

"You're scared, and I get that."

Suddenly, Sheila had appeared at the door, smiling at the two of them. Other than Kshin, Sheila was the only one who knew about Amy's powers, and she only had learned about them recently.

"But you see, Amy, some things are worth taking a risk."

"I really want to help her. I just don't know if I can. I might fail miserably. Maybe I end up like her, or maybe me entering her dreamscape will make things worse."

"An awful lot of maybes, don't you think?" Sheila went over to her and put an arm around the young girl's shoulders. "We're running out of options, Amy. And if you were willing to step forward and try to help out, we'd all be thankful. It doesn't matter if you fail. We all fail sometimes. You just have to do your best. Nobody will ask for more. You do your best and it will not be a failure."

"If I can't help her …"

"Then it was worth a shot. But you're the only option Jedda has left right now. And we're running out of time."

Taking a deep breath, Amy followed Sheila back into Jedda's bedroom, with Kshin right behind her. In the room, the scene hadn't changed much. Phantom still looked worried, and now Rick sat on the bed as well, while Lothar and LJ were helping Mandrake to flip through some more dusty old books.

"There's nothing in there!" LJ impatiently exclaimed, slamming one of the books shut and sending dust flying everywhere. April, who'd been standing nearby, started to cough.

"We don't really know what exactly to look for either", Lothar sighed.

"We need a way to enter Jedda's nightmare", Sheila calmly announced, pushing Amy further in the direction of Jedda's bed.

"Ah, and how are you going to do that?" Flash icily replied back. "Or is there another power you never mentioned to us?"

"Sadly, no, I'm in no position to help out here", Sheila said, avoiding his gaze as she usually did. "But someone else could try. We do have a dreamwalker in our midst, people."

"Like who?" April asked disbelievingly.

"Like me", Amy announced, holding April's surprised gaze.

Silence greeted this announcement, and Amy still kept looking at April, mostly to avoid Mandrake's looks. She didn't even want to see if he was curious, furious, stunned or if he didn't even care at all. She couldn't handle that power very well, so in the end, she'd disappoint him anyway.

"You're a dreamwalker?" Mandrake finally said, a strange tone in his voice.

"Why haven't you said so before?" Lothar wanted to know, now slamming his book shut as well.

"If you can help Jedda, you should go ahead", the Phantom demanded.

"Why didn't we know of this before?" Flash asked, but his question was directed at Sheila, not Amy. "Are you keeping secrets again, princess?"

Impatiently, Sheila shook her head. "Explanations can wait until later", she decided. "But I'm sure Amy will be able to enter Jedda's dreamscape."

"And then what?" Flash shot back. "Whatever monster is holding Jedda there might attack Amy on the spot. She's powerless in there!"

"No, I'm not."

Sick of the constant bickering between those two, Amy lifted her hand and one of the books flew through the air and crashed into the wall next to Flash, sending one of Jedda's framed pictures down the wall. Flash stood there, frozen on the spot, probably asking himself if little Amy O'Connor had really just used another unknown power on him.

"Apparently, she's not gonna be helpless", the Phantom interjected, suddenly leaving his place next to Jedda at the bed and gesturing for Amy to take the seat instead. "You go ahead, Amy. Bring my daughter back to me."

"I will", she said, but the scared look in her eyes betrayed the forced confidence in her voice.


	11. LoveHate

**Project:**As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check .com/ for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 2, Episode 45, "Rain Of Fire", Will Flash and Sheila ever solve their problems?

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Love/Hate**

It was getting late, and slowly, darkness was surrounding the mansion. Downstairs, the noise of the television could be heard and in one of the kids' rooms, music was still playing. They've had a pretty fierce battle with Ming's forces today, so the quietness of the evening was all the more enjoyable.

Of course for some people, the constant fighting never ended. And after the discovery of Amy's powers and Jedda being locked up in some creature's hold and tortured with nightmares, a new topic for the constant fighting had arisen.

When Sheila left the upstairs bathroom after changing into some comfy PJ's, Flash opened the door of his bedroom and stepped onto the floor, rolling his eyes when he noticed Sheila. Like her, he was dressed in comfy sweatpants and an old t-shirt.

"Sneaking around again?"

"I was just leaving the bathroom. That hardly counts as sneaking around, don't you think?"

"With you, one can never know. But whatever you say."

He wanted to move past her, but in a swift motion, she blocked his way. Yes, he had all the right to be pissed at her, and even the constant distrust was fully understandable. But she'd chosen a side and she was going to stick with it. He had no right to insult her constantly. And she wouldn't just stand there every time he did so and let it happen. She had more pride than that. Even with what she'd done, she wasn't the boot scraper for his moodiness.

"Do you have to insult me every time you see me?" she asked. She knew she sounded pissed, but she didn't care. "I was leaving the bathroom, for god's sake!"

"And god knows what you did in there", he shot back, trying to get past her, but she wouldn't let him. All the comfy attitude of the evening was gone. Suddenly, she felt ready to settle this argument once and for all.

"You wanna start a fight now? Really?"

"No, you already started it. I'm just tired of constantly having to defend myself when I didn't even do something!"

"Fine. Then let's talk about the stuff you did."

"Going into the traitor-thing again? Really? I know what I did was wrong, but I've chosen a side now – I'm trying to establish something here, as a member of the Defenders of the Earth!"

"First of all, you're never gonna be a member of the Defenders of the Earth, no matter how much you pretend to be. Second, I'm not talking about you infiltrating the team in the name of your piece of a scumbag-father. I'm talking about holding back knowledge, keeping secrets. Again."

Of course. The Amy-thing. How could she have forgotten? But her keeping Amy's secret didn't hurt anyone and she didn't do it for any other purpose than helping Amy. But Flash, being hurt and distrustful, obviously had failed to see that.

"These were not my secrets to tell", she tried to defend herself. "It was Amy's choice. She decided to withhold the information, and she had the right to do so. It was her call. Not mine."

"Those powers could have been useful for us! Since you're trying so hard to establish yourself as a member of the team, you should have seen that."

"I did. But Amy's just a kid. Just because she's got powers, she doesn't have to be a superhero. She's young and she's scared and she has to figure out a lot of things, starting with her relationship with Mandrake. I honestly don't think putting her in the team would help all that. I'd have supported her decision either way, but fact is, she decided not to reveal her powers, and that's that. Would you have gone telling everyone about it if it had been you she'd confided in? If it had been you who'd been asked to keep quiet about it?"

He didn't say anything for a moment, then he sighed. "I guess I wouldn't have", he admitted reluctantly.

"See? But of course, when I do it, there's always a difference!"

"Well, I don't have your past!"

"Not everything I did in that past was a trick or a lie, Flash Gordon!"

There was a moment of silence, a quiet exchange of looks between them. Then he put is guard up again and his blue eyes darkened.

"Sorry. But I can't believe that."

"You mean you won't allow yourself to believe that, don't you?" Sighing, she leaned against the wall, folding her arms. "Believe me, Flash. I get where all the hate is coming from, and I know I deserve it all. But I'm also hoping that one day you will realize that you haven't been played all the time. That there were moments when I was an open book for you to read, when I was just Sheila and everything I said and did was nothing but the truth."

He sighed now, too. "I wish I could believe that."

Their eyes locked again, and she was pretty sure that he was thinking of what had happened the night before as well, reliving every moment in his memories.

When he looked at her again, he read the question in her eyes and slowly shook his head.

"Not a good idea. Not again. In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to stay away from you. Even if what you say is true, then still – it is for the best."

"And since when are you one for sane and sensible decisions, Flash Gordon?" she quietly asked back, standing absolutely still while sending him another challenging look. Yes, she knew this wasn't the best of ideas. But she also knew this was probably the one thing she could do to get back on speaking terms with him. And maybe, once they were involved again on that level, they could work on becoming close again on other levels, too.

"Unfortunately, last night proves you right. But like I said, it doesn't mean anything. I'm not getting involved with you again. It was physical only."

"We can keep it physical only."

"Yeah. Right. Somehow, I can't see that one working."

"Wanna try?"

She knew it was crazy. She knew it was bold. Maybe too bold, maybe too crazy. And yet, she'd never been afraid to go after what she wanted. And if this was the way to get close to Flash Gordon again – for the right reasons this time – well ...

He came closer, until he stood directly in front of her. His blazing blue eyes were only millimeters away from hers. One tiny move and she would feel his lips on hers again. She could already feel his breath. It had never felt so right.

They held each other tightly, deepening a kiss that hadn't started tenderly nor would it turn into that tonight. She was pressed against the wall by him, and while her shoulders started to hurt, she didn't gave a damn. Instead, she gave him her answer by wrapping her legs around him, as well as her arms, and by running her hand through his hair.

"This is a bad, bad idea", he muttered against her ear, his breath very much unevenly right now.

"I know", she whispered back, very much out of breath herself, stroking his muscular back with her other hand now, enjoying the feeling of his lips against her neck.

"We shouldn't ..."

"I know that, too."

And yet, neither of them stopped. And maybe, just maybe, this was a good sign after all. Maybe it would be a start. The start of something new, of something better. This time, built on love and trust, not on lust and lies. Okay, maybe on lust, too. Just a little bit. Love, trust and lust – wasn't that a wonderful combination?


	12. Death of a Princess

**Project:**As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check .com/ for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 3, Episode 6, "The Choices We Make", With Sheila being back on Mongo, playing the dutiful royal daughter and secret associating with the rebels, Ming once again sends Krotan to finish her off for good.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Death Of A Princess**

The icy corridors of the royal palace in Mongo weren't exactly the most comfy place to be, especially not down here in the lower levels, where the lack of wall decorations and furniture clearly showed that nobody really lived around here. The servants quarters were just around the corner, but Ming didn't care much about them, and every place in the place that wasn't frequently visited by his guests or used by him and his family was pretty much just cold and abandoned. Ming had never been much into decoration and style. He was more into power and world domination.

Her royal gown sizzled as she made her way further down the icy, barely lit corridors, her blonde hair piled up on top of her head in an heavy arrangement which surely would lead to an headache later. If she'd live that long, that is.

Finding the right spot, she paused, seemingly studying an old forgotten statue in the dusty corner. Then, suddenly, she turned.

"You can show yourself now, Krotan."

Stepping out of the shadows, her younger brother didn't even bother to hide that he'd been following her. He walked towards her with the confidence of someone who'd win anyway, and she didn't feel like putting an end to this. She'd reached the point where she'd no options anyway. So whatever Krotan wanted to do, she'd go along with it. There was no future for her, neither here on Mongo, nor down on Earth.

"You knew I've been following you", he stated correctly, obviously somewhat disappointed. He hated it when someone stole his glorious moments away from him.

"I did", she agreed. "In fact, I've led you here."

Hearing this, he raised his eyebrows. "Well, I've been wondering whatever you'd want down here."

"Father asked you to do this, didn't he?" she asked, pushing back a strand of blonde hair out of her face.

"Do what?"

"Whatever you're following me for. Maybe spying on me. But my guess is, you're send to finalize something. Aren't you?"

She sounded tired. He'd tried to kill her once, back then, when she'd been a prisoner of the Defenders, locked up in a cell at Monitor. Back then, the Phantom had saved her. This time, nobody would save her. And truth be told, she wasn't sure she wanted to be saved. It was tiring having to prove yourself to the same people over and over and over. Maybe it just wasn't worth the trouble.

"Yes ... he ordered me to kill you", Krotan reluctantly admitted.

"Hmmmh. Thought so."

He stared at her. "Doesn't that bother you at all? Hey, I'm all ready for another fight. Although there's nothing much to throw about down here."

"No, I don't want to fight. I'm tired of fighting. And I'm tired of proving myself. I tried to show the Defenders that I'm worthy of their trust, that I'm able to put my past and my family behind me. It didn't matter. In the end, I was still 'that bloody traitor'. Or just 'that bitch'. I came back here because I thought maybe everyone is right, maybe my true place in life is here with my father and my siblings. But playing the dutiful princess day by day didn't help either. In fact, the more I played nice, the more suspicious father got. So what's the point, Krotan? I belong neither here nor there."

"You're giving up?"

He almost sounded disappointed. Of course he was. That wasn't a glorious moment for him, either. He wouldn't defeat the traitorous sister in a battle for life or death in honor of the Royal Family of Mongo. The princess already had been defeated by her own decisions. Krotan just had to deliver the final blow.

"I'm giving up", she stated, loosening the seal ring with the royal insignia of Mongo from her finger and holding it up for Krotan to see. "I'm sure father will want this back."

"This is a trick! You'd never ..."

"Will you just get on with it?"

"He ordered me to kill you, Sheila. You cannot return from death."

"Last time, you didn't try to talk to me. You were to busy trying to actually follow your orders."

"Last time, you'd betrayed us. And I was pissed. And you kept fighting back, which pissed me off all the more. This time ... I don't know. I've been watching you. You didn't do anything except being the perfect daughter. I get where father's distrust comes from, but ..."

"You wouldn't have killed me back then, you know", she said, smiling. "You thought you were, and you did injure me quite a bit. But even if the Phantom hadn't put a stop to it, I doubt you would have been able to kill me."

"Unfortunately, you're my sister. And although I don't particularly like you, it better be you at father's side than Castra."

She stared at him, and he shrugged.

"He wants to put Castra in your place."

"He can't do that!" she exclaimed, thinking of her youngest sister, so young, so innocent, still a baby in her eyes. He wouldn't dare to put such a young and pure girl like Castra in that position! Aura, yes, Aura could handle anything anyone dared to throw at her. But Castra, having lived a sheltered life in the palace – no way!

"He will, Sheila."

"Over my dead body!" she said through gritted teeth. Suddenly, death wasn't an option anymore. There was something worth fighting for again – Castra, her younger sister!

"Exactly", Krotan smirked. Then he turned serious again. "Sheila, if I don't kill you, he'll just send someone else. Now, obviously, we've already tried that. Back then, the Phantom got in the way. I guess today, it's Castra I'm trying to protect. If he puts her in your place, he'll break her."

"You're not helping, Krotan." Pacing along the wall, she nervously played with her hair. "I can't protect Castra. Father will just send another assassin after me."

"Not if he thinks you're really dead", Krotan suggested. "Look, I've got some people working for me. We could deceive father, making him believe you're dead. I'll try to suggest Aura as your replacement, but if that doesn't work, both Aura and I will protect Castra."

A natural reaction, she thought. Castra had always been the link between them, the one thing to keep them all together. They fought and disagreed a lot with each other, but none of them ever had a quarrel with Castra. Castra was just too nice to quarrel with, and she loved all her siblings equally, despite their many faults and despite the bad things they'd done over the years.

"Fine. Protecting Castra is priority number one. And I will …"

He cut her off. "Don't tell me. I don't want to know, and I can't know. Wherever you go, you're not to return here. Ever. If this goes wrong, we're all doomed."

She wanted to say something, but he grabbed the seal ring from her, closing his long green fingers around it. "I'll give this to father as a proof. If he wants to see your body, one of my friends might be able to use a magic trick. But let's hope it won't come to that."

"Krotan ..."

"Have a nice life, traitor", he interrupted, then turned and walked back the way he came without a second glance.

She let five minutes pass, then she went over to the dusty old statue. Another five minutes later, the statue moved and Barin stepped out, giving her a dubious glance.

"Were you able to deceive him, Your Highness?"

"I think so. I'm officially dead now and he'll protect Castra. If he knows about my affiliation with the rebels, he didn't mention it."

"Let's hope he really can make the emperor believe you're dead. If Ming will come looking for you, there won't be a corner of this planet that his troops won't tear apart. They will discover us then. It's a big risk we're taking here."

Barin looked worried, and she walked over to him and shook her head.

"It was you who suggested this in the first place, Barin. And now it's a done deal. Besides, I know my dear brother. He can be a scheming, manipulative brat. If anyone will be able to deceive my father, it will be him."

"I can only trust your judgment, Your Highness", Barin nodded.

"It's just Sheila now", she answered, smiling. "I've just buried the princess part with my seal ring. Anyway, there's work to do, isn't there?"

"There is indeed."

Both of them disappeared into the secret passageway behind the statue, and only seconds later the floor was as cold, dark and empty as it had been before.


	13. Execution

**Project: **As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 3, Episode 20 ("At Destiny's End"), Episode 21 ("The Breaking Point"), Episode 22 ("Deja Vu All Over Again"), Ming plans to execute Sheila, and, in his cruelness, wants to force Flash to set the whole thing into motion. After the disastrous result (episode 20), Queen Hadea turns back time, only to have an similar result (episode 21). So she turns back time for the very last time, giving the Royal Five and the DoE one last chance ...

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Execution**

"... my daughter, the princess Sheila Oceanna, will be executed tomorrow for high treason ..."

The silence, the forced cheers, the disbelieve, all from the crowd gathered outside in front of the palace. It hadn't really bothered her. She'd defied destiny before. She surely could do so again. But then again, who'd help her this time? And the minute she'd been thrown in the High Security Prison, with guards by her side day and night, the realization that this was indeed the end had hit.

Then Aura had been brought in, her face even paler than usual, with tears in her eyes, which was a very unusual sight where Aura was concerned.

"This is it, Sheila. You've gone too far this time."

"I had to!"

"No. No, you didn't. Father forgave you and Krotan for faking your death after the five of us defeated the New Gods in the battle arena. Everything was back to normal. But you had to go and play Defender again!"

"I had to help them!"

"No, you didn't! And now you're going to die, Sheila. Where are your precious Defenders now?"

Nowhere in sight. But then again, they didn't really know. And if they'd know, it would be too late anyway. And what could they do? And would they do anything? Shaking her head, she'd concentrated on holding back her tears. Doing that, she'd nearly missed Aura's words who were a mere whisper and so quiet, that the guards didn't even turn around.

"I've paid Krotan to send word to Hadea. She's your best bet right now."

Yeah, right. The flicker of hope she'd allowed herself to have died down instantly. There was nothing Hadea could do, either. The only option for her older sister would be to take a stand against Ming, and that would put her in a similar place Sheila was in right now.

And it hadn't been working, just like she'd known it wouldn't. Krotan's messenger had been caught halfway by Ming's troops and as a result, Aura, Castra and Krotan had been placed under housearrest. The only one left had been Barin, the rebellion leader, who'd decided to travel to Netherworld himself to convince the Golden Queen to help them. But help didn't appear on time.

So Sheila had stepped on the podium, ashen-faced but apparently calmly, bracing herself for the final moments. She'd heard Castra sobbing behind her, but she hadn't turned around. Better to get it over with quickly. That, so she'd decided, would be the best thing to do for everyone.

But cruel as usually, Ming had told his servants to bring forward the prisoners, and to her horror, those had been Flash and Rick, both apparently horrified themselves.

"They shouldn't witness this! Please!" she'd tried to plead with her father, but Ming had just laughed that cruel laugh of his, interrupting her in the process.

"Witness? My dear daughter, your ex-lover is going to be the one to set you in flames, otherwise his beloved son will share the same fate as his wife!"

"No!" Sheila and Flash had exclaimed in unison.

But Ming hadn't changed his evil plan. She hadn't expected him to. She eyed the lasergun he kept pointing at Rick's head, saw the boys scared face, and she hated her father even more than before.

"Do it", she'd whispered in Flash's direction. "Try to save Rick. He's the one worth saving. If I don't die today, I might die tomorrow. But Rick, he's ..."

"Shut up!" he'd screamed at her, but it wasn't hate or anger showing in his eyes, it was panic.

And then the other Defenders had appeared, and in the midst of the confusion Ming had shot Rick in the head. Blood, screams, chaos, confusion. More blood, more screams. She was still tied up at the podium, and to avoid the horrible sight, she'd closed her eyes.

The smell of smoke had forced her to open them again. She'd let out a scream at the sight of not only one but two bodies lying down on the ground. Both Flash and Rick had been killed, and Ming himself had set the podium on fire. She'd tried to scream. Then, the wind turned sightly, and suddenly, the hungry flames got hold of her gown, swallowing it up with an incredible force. Heat, smoke and pain made her scream again, louder than before.

"It's the Queen! The Queen of Netherworld!" she'd heard someone scream.

_Too late, Hadea. You are too late …_

Then, a deep black nothing.

And then, again, the hopelessness, the despair, the failing of plans. Again, Aura, Castra and Krotan were guarded 24 hours a day. At least this time, the Defenders arrived on time. But again, flames, smoke, heat, pain, panic, chaos. Screams, blood, people dying. A sea of flames. Everyone dying.

_And all because of me._

And then, the deep black nothing again. Somehow, it seemed familiar. It greeted her like an old friend. Blackness, but also no more worries, no more fighting, no more death, no more hearing the screams of people burning alive. She closed her eyes in comfort. Silence. Finally. Over. It was all over.

"Something is wrong here", Aura insisted, carefully eying the guard in the corner while whispering in her sister's ear. "But don't worry. I'll find out what's going on here. And I send Barin to notice Hadea of father's plans immediately. I even asked Krotan to make contact with your earthling friends."

"You shouldn't have", Sheila slowly said, staring blankly at the dirty and cold walls of her small prison, thinking of comfortable blackness and silence while having no idea why. _I'm going crazy. I feel like I've been sleeping. But I haven't. I've been listening to Aura, sick with worry because of tomorrow, haven't I?_

Then, suddenly, Castra appeared in the hallway, drawing the attention of the guards and her sister on herself. She looked scared, more like a child than the young woman she'd become.

"They've arrested Krotan", she said, avoiding details because of the guards who were surely listening as well. "I tried to send a warning as well, but I failed. And Aura – I think they're coming for you, too!"

_I've heard this before,_ Sheila thought, but she couldn't have, could she? She'd been brought down here yesterday. She'd slept, and cried a lot. Aura had just come in here. No, it couldn't be something she'd experienced before.

Then her father's troops appeared behind Castra, and one of Sheila's guards escorted Aura out of the cell. Both princesses were put in the middle of the heavy-armed troops.

"We'll find a way to save you, Sheila!" Castra cried, forgetting to be careful. "Please don't give up! We'll find a way to save you!"

"Move!" the leader of the troop said, pushing her forward.

"I'm a princess!" she protested, moving closer to Aura when the troop-leader just glared at her.

"And I have my orders", he calmly stated. "So move now, Princess. I would really hate to hurt you."

The troop marched off, taking her scared sisters with them. Sheila felt the eyes of her guards on her. She didn't bother to move. There was nothing she could do. The cell's structure didn't allow her to use her force field or invisibility, and either way, she was sure the guards were prepared for everything.

_Different. It's different this time_, she thought as she stepped on the podium hours later, and although it was impossible, everything seemed so familiar. She didn't turn to respond to Castra's sobbing. And she already knew who her father would bring in to display his cruelty. Only then she was surprised – somehow she'd expected to see Rick, not Amy and Jedda. Confusion made it impossible to concentrate on her father's orders and Flash's angry shouts. Why did everything seem like she'd been there before and why did the presence of Amy and Jedda feel so wrong? And why wasn't the fear of getting burned at stake on her mind?

"Do it", she mechanically whispered to Flash when they forced him to stand in front of her, holding a torch in his shaking hands. "They're worth saving, I'm not."

There was more she wanted to say, but she felt like she'd been saying it over and over before, so she remained quiet. And confused. She hadn't been talking to Flash in ages. How could she have told him all of this before?

"I will do it", she heard him saying, and lifting her head, she realized that this was a surprise again. But somehow, it was a good one.

"I will do it because I have to. If I don't, we'll all end up dead."

She didn't ask why and how he knew. She believed him. With tears streaming down her face, she smiled at him sadly. This was it. Now, finally, it felt real.

"Do it", she whispered again.

There were tears in his eyes, too. Slowly, he lowered the torch.

"I love you", he whispered back. Then, the fire of the torch got hold of the dry straw that had been placed all over the podium.

"I never stopped loving you", he added, throwing the torch away, stepping backwards, watching the flames rise, the tears now streaming down his face.

She wanted to say something, but the flames reached her long gown, slowly feeding on the soft fabric.

Then, chaos arose, as the other Defenders stormed the execution place, fighting their way through the guards and troops.

"No!" she screamed as Ming pulled the trigger but thanks to Mandrakes telekinesis, the deadly lasergun fly right through the air, leaving the emperor momentarily defenseless.

Rick and LJ stormed forward, being given coverage by April. Both of them tried to free Amy and Jedda. At the same time, pale creatures stormed forward, joining the fight of the Defenders against Ming.

"It's Hadea!" Castra cheered. "It's her people! Hadea's here!"

_And everything will be alright_, she thought, slowly closing her eyes while trying not to breath too much. There was smoke everywhere now. _They'll be fine. I can rest in peace now._

„Hold on! Don't breath!" Screaming her name, Flash tried to run through the flames to cut her lose, using his sweater to try to smother the flames.

_No, don't! We'll both die! You're not supposed to die! _

But she couldn't scream any of this to him, because she had to prevent inhaling too much smoke. She tried to put up a force field, to turn invisible, anything, but the ties that held her in place apparently had been made to prevent any usage of powers.

She felt someone trying to loosen the ties and held still, but the flames were too high. She wasn't even able to look around anymore. A dark cloud of smoke seemed to cover the whole podium. And the flames kept burning through her dress, feeding their everlasting hunger on her naked flesh. She opened her mouth in horror, struggling against the pain, suddenly able to move forward, stumbling through the thick smoke, falling ...

„I got her!" someone shouted.

Air, fresh air. Coolness. Water. Castra's soft voice. Someone sobbing. A lot of people talking. Blinking, she tried to turn, but her older sister firmly held her in place. Looking up, she saw the blue, cloudless sky over her and to her right the burnt-down ruins of the former podium. On her left, the Defenders had gathered around something or someone.

„What ... where ..."

„You're going to be okay", Castra said, kneeling down next to Hadea, taking Sheila's hand. „You've been burnt badly, but surely, a good healer can help with that."

„Please, keep lying down", Hadea said.

„Flash ... is Flash ..."

She just had to know that. She'd seen him through the smoke, desperately trying to get through to her, to save her. She'd been freed, so apparently, he'd succeed. But where was he?

Hadea remained silent, and fearing the worst, Sheila forced herself up, ignoring the pain in her body.

„Where is he!" she demanded to know, trying to get on her feet, grabbing hold of Castra and forcing herself to stand, despite the pain she was in.

„He's ... Aura's with him ..." Castra bit her lip, but the answer had been enough to confirm Sheila's worst fears. Aura wasn't the world's most social or caring person. But she had healing powers. And since she hadn't healed Sheila yet, Flash injuries were probably more crucial than hers.

„No!"

With Hadea and Castra at her sides, she slowly made her way to where the Defenders were gathered. The whole place was a battlefield and not exactly nice to look at. Shuddering, Sheila kept her gaze focused on the group of people they were slowly approaching.

„Father survived", Hadea quietly answered the unspoken question. „The only casualties were guards, troops and some of my people, as well as one or two of Barin's rebels. Other than that, mostly injuries."

She knew she should care, but right now, Flash was the only thing on her mind. Stumbling forward, she saw Flash's lifeless body down in the dirt, badly burnt, his eyes closed. Aura was kneeling at his side, her pale hands resting on his chest, her eyes closed in concentration. Krotan and Barin were present as well, standing behind Aura, apparently ready to guard her if necessary. The Defenders were forming a circle around them. Rick and April held each other tightly. Both of them were bleeding as well, but their injuries didn't look too bad compared with what some of the others were showing.

Slowly, the three sisters came to a stand next to Aura just as she opened her eyes. Exhausted, she looked up, meeting Sheila's eyes.

„He's going to be alright", Aura promised. „He's just going to have to rest a lot during the next days. And see an earth doctor, as well."

„We'll see to that", Lothar said, nodding. „Thank you very much, Princess. We won't forget this."

Tuning their talking out, Sheila got down on her knees. In the same moment, Flash opened his eyes. His gaze fell upon her, and he seemed relieved.

„It's going to be fine", she managed to say before both April and Rick came to hug and comfort their father. Feeling out of place, she allowed Hadea to help her up again. Tiredly, she rested her head against Hadea's shoulders.

„Time was repeating itself, wasn't it?" Amy shyly asked in Hadea's direction. „I guess this was your doing?"

„Yes, in agreement with all of you, I suppose. Although I don't remember any of it", Hadea answered, and she, too, sounded very tired.

„Why did the future turn out differently each time?" Jedda wanted to know. „When Amy and I noticed time repeating itself, it seemed like we'd been there not only once before, but at least twice. It was too familiar. We tried to save Rick and got captured instead of him. But it didn't seem to matter which one of us got captured. And yet, this time, we're apparently all safe and well. It's confusing."

„Well, time is confusing", Hadea admitted, allowing a slow smile on her lips. „I can't say much about how time works because nobody really knows. But what I do know is this, and it's not about time, it's about the future. Sometimes a single small gesture, an apparently insignificant word or some seemingly trivial deed is all it takes to set a whole new future into motion. It's not always the grand gestures that matter."

Her explanation was greeted with silence. Everyone stood there, thinking about what Hadea just had said, realizing the truth behind her words.

„Why did you save me?" Flash suddenly asked with a rather hoarse voice.

Silence again, and this time, curious glances from the rest of his teammates. Yes, it was a good question. One Sheila had been asking herself as well.

„We did it for our sister", Aura finally said, stepping away from the Defenders and was instantly flanked by Barin and Krotan.

Everyone looked over to Sheila who managed a weak smile, clinging closer to Castra and Hadea. Everything had been so weird today. And she still felt tired. And maybe Aura could start using her healing powers on Sheila now as well. It was either that or some good old painkillers.

„We also did it for the future", Hadea quietly added before turning and leading both Sheila and Castra away.


	14. Reflection

**Project: **As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 3, Episode 47 ("The Golden Queen, I"), Episode 48 ("The Golden Queen, II"), Episode 22 ("All Hell Breaks Loose"), Hadea wants Phantom and kidnaps him, but at the same time, her kingdom is invaded and her prisoner turns into her only ally. Yet Hadea makes a mess out of things and in the end lets the Phantom go. He cares enough to save her yet again, which brings the Queen of Netherworld to her breaking point. After one night of shared passion, Hadea reflects on the events of the past few days.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Reflection**

She felt warm and safe and happy, and yet everything was cold and scary and there was absolutely no reason for her to feel any happiness at all. What she should feel was loneliness, like she always did. And yet …

Slowly and carefully, Queen Hadea sat up in her 17th Century England Queen Anne bed, pushing a soft strand of blonde hair back from her face. The cozy fire in the elegant fireplace had gone out and the room was rather chilly right now as well as dark, since the heavy curtains were still closed and no light was anywhere to be seen.

She turned to look at the man lying next to her, still sleeping. Due to the darkness in the room, she couldn't really see his features which she guessed suited him just fine. He was the Phantom, after all, a man of mystery. Usually nobody got to see the man behind the mask, but tonight, she of all people had. Well, it had been dark. But at least he hadn't worn the mask and if she wanted to, she could light the bedside lamp and … no. She stopped herself from doing so before she could even finish the thought. He'd risked so much for her, and all she'd done was being selfish and stupid. And yet he'd come back to save her. She would not make any foolish moves now, no matter how curious she was.

Oh, Hadea wasn't misguided enough to think this meant anything. Although maybe on some level, yes, she wanted it to. But being the lonely Queen of Netherworld was her destiny and one she had to embrace. But of course, ever so often, she tried to break free from the chains that held her firmly in place in this desolate and dark kingdom. And it was always the Phantom she kept coming back to. Violence, force and threats, they had seem like good ideas back then, and sure, she managed to get the Phantom down here, as a prisoner, yes, but with her power and beauty, she knew she could get any man to do her bidding. Any man but one. The Phantom had just refused to be charmed. Not even her most revealing outfits and her most seductive voice and manners had helped. He wouldn't play along and he didn't seem the least bit interested in her, or her power, or her kingdom. Stupid. Some men were just plain stupid. She had hated him for rejecting her, for actually telling her there was no way he'd ever be interested. And then the invasion had begun and she actually had to be thankful to that man. Thankful for becoming an ally, even though he was still her prisoner. And it confused her. Hadea loved logic. Everything in the world and in her life could be solved, could be understood, could be analyzed. But a man she held prisoner offering his help and not once asking her for his freedom in return? No, that she would never understand. If it had been her, she'd have bargained for her freedom in a heartbeat and then probably would have taken off without fulfilling her end of the bargain.

Sighing, Hadea wrapped the thick blanket closer around her body. She knew she should get up and light the fire again, but she couldn't bring herself to leave the security her bed provided her right now. Stupid, she'd been so stupid. And as always, too proud for her own good. She should have let the Phantom go. Instead, in a moment of desperately trying to prove herself as a hero and not a villain, she'd interfered when her father's forces had attacked the Bandar tribe, Phantom's friends. Instead of emerging out of the situation as the hero of the piece, she'd been reduced to being the villainess once again. And that was when she'd finally let the Phantom go. Not because she was a true heroine after all, but because she'd been afraid to face him after that. The true heroine of the day had been the Phantom's daughter, Jedda Walker, who had saved the Bandar from Ming's troops.

And yet … and yet the Phantom had stayed in Netherworld, just to save her again. How much more humiliation could one person take? She wasn't as beautiful, sexy and charming as she'd hoped, her kingdom had turned against her, she'd been powerless, a damsel in distress, and she couldn't even get one damn thing right. These certainly weren't her glorious days. And not to mention her breakdown. Ugh. She was the Golden Queen of Netherworld. The Golden Queen did not break down. And certainly not in front of someone else. And yet …

"And apparently crying is the new turn-on to get laid", she muttered to herself, sighing again.

"It's only human", the man next to her commented, looking at her, his eyes now open, but his face still clouded in darkness.

She blinked, trying to hide her surprise. So typical for him to lie awake, to watch, to observe, and to make his presence known when one least expected it.

"Oh. You're awake", she stated the obvious, deciding to play it cool. She would get herself together now, no matter what would happen next. Weakness was, well, for the weak. Queen Hadea wasn't weak. She'd prove that to him.

"So are you", he replied, now sitting up as well.

There was a moment of awkward silence then. Then Hadea decided to get it over with. She turned to look at him. He looked handsome, even if she couldn't get a clear view of his features.

"I guess this is the moment when you get up and leave, is it not?" she coolly asked, trying her best to sound indifferent, like it didn't matter to her at all.

He lifted his eyebrows. "So, I'm allowed to go now?" he asked back.

"Just go!" she snapped. "You don't want to be here, I get it, and there is no reason for you to stay any longer. Besides, let's not fool ourselves in pretending that I could have kept you down here forever. There are people searching half the planet for you."

_And people that need you. And people that are true heroes, not selfish and weak. People that don't disgust you. People that ..._

He interrupted her thoughts. "Keeping people against their will is not the path to true happiness, Hadea. It's the path to self-destruction. You might want to keep that in mind."

He sat on the edge of the bed, carefully placing his mask on his face again, taking hold of his clothes. She whirled around, glaring at him.

"I guess what we did tonight was a pretty self-destructive thing then", she snapped. "After all, you were still my prisoner."

"No. I was being your friend here, Hadea. And what we did, we did out of loneliness. Don't think you're the only one destiny dealt the lonely card."

"You're lonely?" She certainly hadn't expected that.

He stood up, fastening his belt around his waist, and gave her a long look. "Everyone's lonely in one way or the other. The likes of you and me, serving as Queen in this godforsaken place and protecting the world as a hero behind a mask, are just a bit more lonely than the average human being."

"Which gives the likes of you and me a good excuse to get a shag in, doesn't it?" she snapped back, now sitting on the edge of the bed too, not bothering to cover herself up while searching for her underwear on the floor next to the bed.

"Actually ..." He let his voice trail off a bit, then looked back at her. "I don't quite know where that shag fits in."

That left her momentarily speechless. He looked over at her, now dressed up as the Phantom again, and from where she sat on the bed with just her panties on, the distance between them couldn't have been bigger.

"It wasn't because you were crying, Hadea, and you know that", he assured her, still looking at her. "But maybe it came to be because for once, you were almost human. And that is more attractive than all the power and all the sexiness in the world."

"You're attracted to weakness?"

"To humanity, Hadea. There's a difference."

She opened her mouth to answer but then the wooden double doors to her bedchamber were thrown open and one of her servants stumbled in, coughing and out of breath.

"Your Highness ..."

Then, seeing his Queen almost naked, he quickly bowed his head and looked down on the carpeted floor, his pale cheeks growing red.

"What is it?" she snapped, angry and impatient at being interrupted like that.

"The kingdom, your Highness … parts of the palace … it's on fire ..."

She gasped, grabbing her robe and started to dress in a hurry. How silly of her to think it was over now. Whatever Ming's plan was, it was far from over. Ming the Merciless never gave up. But his daughter wasn't going to go down without a fight either.

"Hurry", the Phantom said, then he shoved the servant out of the way and ran out of the room, obviously playing the hero again.

But this time, she wouldn't need saving. And when it was over, she'd go back to being Hadea, Queen of Netherworld. To hell with humanity. Humanity couldn't bring her kingdom back. But a good old fight just might.


	15. Merry Christmas

**Project: **As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 4, Episode 44 ("A Central City Christmas Carol"), DoE Christmas lacks the one thing Christmas is all about – peace and quiet and family harmony. At least for Sheila, there's a Christmas miracle waiting.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Merry Christmas**

Leaning against the beautifully decorated window, Sheila held her glass of champagne but didn't drink. She just stood there, watching the soft fall of the snowflakes, carelessly dancing in the wind, brightening up Christmas night and covering up the lawn in their white and pure beauty. It almost made her smile. In moments like this, she loved being on earth, among humans, sharing their lives, being one of them. This was so beautiful and peaceful, and even though not everyone in the room was full of Christmas spirit, Sheila loved Christmas with all her heart. Especially this year, since she had two of her sisters with her to celebrate it with. After all, Christmas was a family festivity.

"This sucks", Aura said, coming up behind her, taking a big sip from her champagne. "I mean, we had this all planned out and what did we get in the end? Everyone bitching and complaining. Not that I'm very much surprised. Humans, you know. Always bitching about one thing or the other."

Facing her, Sheila mockingly lifted an eyebrow. "So that makes you very much human then, does it, Aura?" she grinned.

Aura stuck out her tongue at her, then placed herself next to Sheila, also looking out of the window. The snowflakes were still dancing in the wind.

"So this is what Christmas means to the Earthlings", Aura commented, emptying her glass. "Arguing and bickering. Hey, I'm not saying I'm not one for the occasional bitchiness. In fact, I love being bitchy. But, you know, you said that Christmas was something special, that it brings people together. Haven't seen much of it so far."

"Yeah, well ..." A bit disappointed herself, Sheila turned around to look at the rest of the Defenders. Kshin made a face because he had to get all dressed up for the occasion, Amy was sitting by herself, looking bored, LJ looked sad since his girlfriend's little brother was in the hospital, dying, and no Christmas miracle was going to save him. Rick and April had been talking about their past Christmas parties a lot, about what Dale did for Christmas and what Dale liked and what Dale would have done, which had nearly driven Sheila mad, because obviously, whatever she did could not compare to what the perfect Dale would have done. Flash was acting busy and kept telling everyone he wasn't in Christmas mood anyway, Phantom was barely around and Hadea didn't even seem to get what Christmas was all about. These people were just hopeless.

"See what I mean?" Aura said, shaking her head. "This is the most boring party I've ever been to. If there'd been Christmas on Mongo, it would have been a much more festive affair."

"And much more formal and elegant", Sheila replied. "Christmas is supposed to be about family. About coming together as a family."

"They're not my family. Neither are they your family, or Hadea's, for that matter", Aura stated matter-of-factly.

"We're living with them, so right now, they are our family. Family isn't just about blood, it's about love and friendship and caring and ..."

"Sheila, most of the time they hate us."

"True." Sighing, she put her glass down on the table. Aura was right. It had been foolish to imagine that Christmas would change anything. She was still the traitor, Hadea was still the villain and Aura was still the one no one trusted. Some things never changed.

"Well, at least you tried. And I got a new dress for the occasion so it wasn't a complete waste." Shrugging, Aura turned and walked over to where Hadea sat, probably complaining and telling her eldest sister about how all this sucked, too. And she was right. It did suck.

Still, the snow was beautiful to look at. And dinner had been delicious. And the Christmas decorations all around the house were pretty. It probably wasn't the way Dale Gordon would have done it, but it was the way Sheila had wanted to do it, and everybody who wanted something else should just do it themselves instead of complaining.

"Crappy weather."

Now, Flash was the last one she'd expected to come up to her for smalltalk, so she looked at him somewhat surprised. They were in one of their 'off' phases again, and she had long ago accepted the fact that it would never be like it was with him again. Too much had happened.

"Actually, I like the weather. It's perfect for Christmas. It's beautiful out there."

"It will be hell tomorrow on the streets. They've been talking about snowpocalypse all week long."

"Don't ruin my moment", she sighed. "I need to find something nice about this evening."

"Well, there were no complaints about dinner."

"Great. Next year, it's just dinner then. I won't bother with decorations and a fancy dress and trying to make nice conversation."

"Sheila, there's nothing wrong with the stuff you did. It's just … circumstances ..."

"I hate circumstances. In fact, I'm through with circumstances. This was supposed to bring everyone closer together. There was so much hate and bitching these past few weeks." Looking up, she gave him a stare. "And don't blame it entirely on Aura and Hadea. They're … difficult. But not everything is their fault."

"No, I suppose it isn't. Christmas is hard for Rick and April, because with Dale, it was always the most special occasion of the year. And yeah, it's hard for me too. I guess right now, everyone has some troubles. Everyone misses someone. You got them to sit at the same table for an hour. I think it's a good start."

"They hate everything and would have rather spend their Christmas Eve doing something else", she muttered, staring out of the window, watching the dancing snowflakes.

"No, they don't."

"What changed your attitude?" she asked, eyebrows raised. He'd been in a crappy mood all the time during the past week and he'd still been moody during dinner, barely saying one word.

"Realization. And the fact that both my kids weren't exactly happy shiny people today. And despite the fact that I don't feel like celebrating Christmas these days, I haven't forgotten the meaning of it. So your happy family Christmas thing worked. At least on me."

"And here I was thinking you'd be the last person I can win over with this", she answered with a smile.

"Guess I'm good with surprises then", he grinned, toasting her with his glass.

"You know what, I'm going to go see Kate and her family at the hospital", LJ suddenly interrupted, getting up from his seat. "Kate might want me to be around tonight. And I want to be there for her."

"Well, and there's that party I was invited to." Rick also got up. "I think I can still make it. Anyone want to come?"

April immediately got up, and suddenly, everyone seemed to have somewhere to be. Aura and Hadea left, too, probably thinking Sheila was crazy to obsess so much about tonight.

The room was empty soon. An empty champagne bottle and a few used glasses were standing here and there and the Christmas tree stood lovely decorated but lonely in it's corner.

"And I guess that's that then", Sheila sighed.

"Well, tomorrow's still Christmas, you know." Flash put his glass down as well and walked towards the door. As he reached it, he turned around, looking at her. She looked back inquiringly.

"Any plans for tonight?"

She was surprised, but in a nice way. If Christmas turned their 'off' into 'on' again, hell, then all her efforts had at least been worth something.

"What if I have?" she replied playfully.

"Cancel them", he grinned before turning around and walking out of the living room.

A big smile on her face, Sheila also left the room, not bothering to carry the empty glasses back into the kitchen. For once, someone else could take care of this. She had to get herself ready.

Aura came walking down the stairs and passed her sister in the hall. Shaking her head, she stopped when she saw the big smile on Sheila's face.

"For someone whose Christmas spirit just got ruined, you're in an awful good mood, sis", she remarked.

"Who says it's been ruined?" Giggling like a little girl, Sheila gave her sister a hug and then kept walking towards the stairs. "I say it just got boosted."

"You're weird", Aura commented.

"Yeah, love you too, Aura. Merry Christmas!"

Still smiling, Sheila walked up the stairs. Shame on those who missed out on Christmas. It was so worth it.


	16. Forbidden Feelings

**Project: **As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check .com/ for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 4, Episode 47 ("The Prince Weds"), Krotan took over the throne on Mongo and kidnapped Jedda to be his Queen. Jedda found out that her boyfriend Dan was in fact Prince Krotan all along and is now struggling with feelings she shouldn't have.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Forbidden Feelings**

She'd kissed Krotan. She'd kissed the prince of Mongo and had nearly been laid by the prince of Mongo, too. She told Prince Krotan her secrets, she'd confided in him, she'd been hanging around with him, cuddling with him, making out in her car with him. Oh, gross. This was just gross!

Dan, her sensitive, perfectly nice and very handsome boyfriend was in fact Krotan, prince of Mongo, a green and ugly alien, who'd only disguised himself as an earthling. Bloody shapeshifting powers. But she'd never have suspected … well, he'd probably been too perfect anyway but she'd hoped that just this once, this would turn out to be something real and true. She'd even defended Dan countless times when April had her constant suspicions about him. But April had suspicions about everyone, so naturally, Jedda hadn't given it much thought. Well, maybe she should have. Now she was locked in a secured room in the palace on Mongo, wearing a beautiful royal gown and Krotan was talking about making her his queen, his wife. It was crazy. The past few days had been nothing but crazy.

Well, she wanted out. Of course she wanted out. She'd even tried to get out, but the windows had bars in front of them and there were armed guards outside of the locked door. But she needed to get out, to warn the others, to get away from Krotan. But Krotan had made it seem like Jedda had come willingly, and since everyone knew how crazy she'd been about Dan, they might really believe that she'd known it had been Krotan the whole time, playing a role. And if they thought she'd run off with Krotan to become Queen Jedda, well, would they come to rescue her? And if they did … there was a reason Jedda had come here with Krotan – to save her friends' lives. If they did come, the mind bombs Krotan had placed on them might get activated by the angry prince. She needed to warn them, to tell them not to come, and she also wanted her father to know that she did not have feelings for the prince of Mongo.

Oh, who was she kidding? If anything Dan had said and done these past few months hadn't been an act, if the true Krotan had been there all along, then there were feelings, whether she liked that or not. And come to think of it, there was a lot about Dan that described Krotan perfectly as well.

"Wake up!" she snapped at herself, angry at even having those thoughts. "He's an alien, he's green, he's disgusting, disloyal, he's an idiot, he's rude, he's arrogant, he's violent and mean, he tried to kill you and your friends on more than one occasion, he's the enemy, he's ..."

She walked across the soft white carpet and threw herself on the queen-sized bed in frustration. Krotan's features were Dan's features, only a little altered and less, well, green. And he hadn't been rude to her. And she'd actually liked his arrogance. It was that thing for bad boys that probably all young girls had. Dan hadn't been violent, mean or stupid either, and his kisses and his touch had made her …

_Stop it!_ she snapped again, this time only in her thoughts. _You're about to have to marry that guy, which is so not good. Yes, there might be some attraction left, but certainly not enough to agree to this! Don't go crazy now. Keep it together. Think. Save your father, save your friends. You own them that. You're a Defender, the future Phantom. You're better than this. Don't let him lure you into this. Stay away from him._

Getting restless again, she climbed out of the bed and walked over to the windows, nearly tumbling over her long skirts. She wasn't used to wearing dresses like these. Swearing, she kept walking, and looking out of the window she saw snow and ice everywhere. She knew the planet had other areas too, deep swamps where monsters lurked, high hills and even some sort of jungles as well as mysterious lakes, sandy deserts and an actual ocean. To her, the jungle-born princess, this lifeless cold winter outside was the worst. No matter which window she looked out, the sight that greeted her was always the same. Snow and ice and not one person or animal to be seen.

"I just want to go home", the young girl sighed, leaning her head against the cold window frame. She desperately wanted to be back in the mansion with the others, getting a hug from her father and help from her friends to get over Dan. And she had to get over Dan. There was absolutely no way she'd start anything with Krotan just because his Earthling-self had been so good looking and charming.

Well, technically, she already had something going with him, but this would end now. And the whole marriage and coronation thing was just plain crazy. A Defender on the throne of Mongo – if Ming ever came back from wherever he was right now, he'd surely kill Krotan for trying something like this.

"Besides, who wants to be Queen anyway", Jedda muttered, picturing Hadea as an example for being a Queen and shuddering at the thought.

Still, not so long ago she'd defended Dan against April, calling him the love of her life. Oh, April would never let her live this one down.

And yet ...

NO. Big, fat, no. There was absolutely no way she'd even try to think about this. She needed to get a message to her friends and she needed to get out of here, and if she'd ever see Krotan again, she's tell him to go to hell. And the same for Dan who'd lied to her all the time and pretended to be someone he was not.

But there was the problem of her being a prisoner here, and even if her friends came, Krotan would just kill them off, so they were better off as far away from Mongo as possible. Which means she'd have to go through with the wedding to save them. Which means Krotan would win.

Furiously, she walked over to the bed again and threw herself on the sheets, not bothering to hold back her tears. How had everything gotten so damn complicated?

"I hate you, you stupid, selfish and arrogant bastard!" she cried, hugging her pillow, picturing Dan's face. Slowly, it turned into Krotan's, and it wasn't a welcome sight.

And as for the hate, despite everything she wasn't even entirely sure it was true. For which she tried to hate him all the more and still couldn't.


	17. Bridal Jitters

**Project:**As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check .com/ for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 4, Episode 47 ("The Prince Weds"), Jedda and Krotan, right before the wedding.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Bridal Jitters**

"We can not go through with this!"

Jedda was standing in her room, or rather, her prison, but it was not the Jedda Walker everyone knew. This Jedda looked very different for she was wearing a silky creme-white robe, embroidered with threads of gold and silver and adorned over and over with Mongo's finest laces. A long and heavy train of white silk made it very difficult indeed for the bride-to-be to move around. Her hair had been carefully and beautifully arranged on top of her head with a beautiful sparkly tiara in it, and a handmaid had brought her some expensive and stunning looking jewelry to go with the bridal outfit. Right now, Jedda was looking absolutely dazzling. And yet she couldn't care less.

Krotan, who was wearing the most dashing royal outfit, stood opposite to her, smiling wickedly. Obviously he took great joy in her resistance and discomfort.

"Oh, but dear Jedda, we will", he grinned. "This not only makes me Emperor of Mongo, it also gives me access to a wedding present from Beta Two, which will make my rulership on Mongo irrevocable. Also, there's the nice addition of having you as my lovely wife. So there's absolutely no reason not to go through with it."

"I don't want to be your lovely wife!" Jedda spat, glaring at him. "But that's something you just keep ignoring because power is the thing you really want."

"Don't you like a powerful man by your side?" He completely ignored her anger – which pissed her off even more – and stepped closer.

"What I'd like is for you to get lost, for my friends to be safe and for me to be back on earth, as Jedda Walker and not as the Empress of Mongo!"

He shrugged unapologetically . "Well, we can't always have what we want, my darling Jedda. Besides, I remember you being so in love with me, you even talked about our future together."

Grinding her teeth, Jedda continued glaring at him. "That was when you were still Dan and I had no idea who you really are. And that's just the thing, Krotan. You're a liar, you're a traitor, you're manipulative, you're our enemy, you're a cold-blooded killer, you're ..."

"Hold on for a moment there!" he interrupted angrily. "There are only so much insults I'm gonna take, even from you, dear Jedda. And hey, I get where you're coming from, I get why you're pissed. And I admit, I created the role of Dan just for fun, I never thought it would lead to anything, let alone making out with a Defender in the back of a car. But you're ..."

"I'm what? Stupid, naive, silly?"

"You're hot. And actually nice to hang out with. And fascinating, really."

She rolled her eyes at that. "Yeah, right. Try to flatter me so I won't give much resistance. Forget it, that's so not working. I don't want to marry you, Krotan. And I don't want to see you again, no matter what you look like."

"And here I thought we were getting along splendidly." Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. Stepping closer again, he held her angry gaze. "Maybe I should refresh your memory."

"What are you ..."

He didn't even let her finish. Instead, he came over to her, and when she realized what he was doing, she stepped backwards, nearly falling over the long train that belonged to her bridal dress. Then she had the wall behind her and couldn't move anymore. Krotan just grinned at her discomfort.

"Stay away from me!" she ordered him sharply.

"Make me!" he laughed, taking hold of her and pressing his mouth against her lips, trying to force her into a kiss she didn't want. Struggling, Jedda tried her best to push him away, to make him stop. Of course he was stronger than her and he was determined to make her remember the good times Jedda and Dan had together, or maybe just determined to put her in her place. Either way, she didn't like it very much.

"Would you stop fighting me?" he snapped, his eyes glaring at her. "You used to enjoy this. Hell, you even initiated it countless times!"

"That was different!" she yelled at him, moving sideways to get away from him. "You were Dan!"

"I was the same person! I just looked different!"

"You were a fantasy, nothing more!"

"And I still can be."

It only took him a few seconds to morph into Dan, the charming dark-haired student Jedda's been so crazy about the past few months. It nearly broke her heart to see Dan standing there. Marriage to Dan, yes, she'd imagined that. She'd thought about a future with that guy. But Dan was really Krotan. There was no future, and there were no feelings.

"Please don't", she muttered, moving even further away from him. "This is not helping. I know who you really are. It's only more torture to see you like this."

At least when he was Krotan, there was a lot of anger towards him. But when he was Dan, she actually felt sad and miserable. And she would not give in and start crying now. At least not in front of her enemy.

"Whatever." Shrugging, he changed back, presenting himself as Krotan again. At least now he didn't try to come after her again. "I was just trying to be helpful."

"You were trying to be an ass, as usual", she stated, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Careful", he grinned, not the least bit insulted by her words. But then why should he be? After all, he had her just where he wanted her. "Your behavior might influence my behavior tonight, my darling Jedda. Please try to remember that."

"Tonight?"

"Don't tell me you're not looking forward to our wedding night, Jedda", he grinned, his eyes wandering all over her body, obviously very pleased with whatever thoughts he was having.

Jedda let out a gasp and he started to laugh. And then he just teleported out of her room, leaving her behind even more worried and angry than before.


	18. Same Old, Same Old

**Project: **As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** Season 5, Episode 13 ("I Do"), Jedda and 'Dan' meet again.

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Same Old, Same Old**

Closing the door of her car, Jedda walked across the parking lot. School's been a disaster. Well, everything was a disaster, ever since the whole Krotan thing. She was safely home and of course she was thankful for that. Her friends were safe as well, and she was thankful for that, too. But ever since she was home again, everyone seemed to be keeping an eye on her. And as if this wasn't enough, apparently her 'bad boy syndrome' was all over school by now. Mostly stupid rumors, of course, but apparently someone overheard someone else talking and now everyone thought Jedda had been running off with some punk guy, drug dealer or married man.

Her phone kept beeping and she groaned when she saw Rick's name on the display. Sighing, she answered anyway before anyone could come to the conclusion that she was having secret rendezvous and therefore didn't answer her phone. Rick was pretty good with conclusions these days.

"What is it? I'm on my way home."

"Just checking in. We were wondering if you want to have some pizza with us tonight. You know, April's staying over and LJ brought Kate and then there's you and me and Amy and Kshin and ..."

Yeah, and a bunch of people with a bunch of questions, watching her, analyzing her, trying to figure her out. No way. The family dinners were enough, especially with her father's disappointed stare.

"Actually, Rick, I was just about to grab a burger and then head over to the library to work on some science project. Might be late."

There was a pause at the other end, and Jedda grabbed the phone harder. She knew exactly what Rick was thinking right now.

"No, Rick, I'm neither running away or meeting … the enemy", she snapped and still couldn't bring herself to say his name out loud. "It's really just boring school stuff."

"Sorry. We're just worried about you and ..."

She disconnected. Please, no more worry talks. No more talks at all. The heart-to-heart talk she had with her father had been the worst, but everything else was a close second. Friends were great, especially her friends. But too much was just too much.

"All I want is a stupid burger", she grumbled and pushed the double doors of the fast food restaurant wide open. A big family walked past her, laughing and talking, and for a moment Jedda actually wished she was one of them, an ordinary girl in an ordinary world. One without aliens, shapeshifters and icy kingdoms on far away planets.

There was quite a queue in front of the counter, and patiently Jedda took her place in the queue behind a young man with dark hair. The young man turned a bit to read a promotion sign for a new kind of burger – something with more cheese and extra spicy – and she got a glimpse of his face. _Dan._

This wasn't real. Surely, this wasn't a coincidence. He was stalking her. He was planning something again. He was … here. And he was turning around. Their eyes locked. For a moment, neither of them spoke.

"Jedda", he finally said, eyebrows raised. "What a lovely surprise."

"It's not", she stated. "I mean, you must have planned this. This surely isn't coincidence."

"Yeah, right." He rolled his eyes at her. "I kept following you around all day, just to meet you in a fast food restaurant full of earthlings and smelly cheese. Don't flatter yourself."

Well, true. She hadn't actually planned to come here, but on her way to the library she'd driven past an advertising sign and decided to grab a bite. Still, she didn't trust him.

"All I want is a bloody burger", he stated.

"That was all I wanted, too. Now I'm not so hungry anymore." She turned around. Yeah, it was running away, but he wasn't good for her and she knew that. If it had been pure hate she'd felt towards him, she would have stayed. But she wasn't sure what she felt, which scared her a lot more than she wanted to admit to herself. He was the enemy. She was supposed to hate him. And she didn't, which worried her. She was Jedda Walker, the Phantom's daughter. She wasn't some silly chick in a silly movie, falling for the enemy and living happily ever after. She was a Defender. She had a duty to carry out and a destiny to fulfill. Krotan didn't fit into her life, nor did she want him there. The fact alone that the prince of Mongo could make her feel like this made her angry, worried and scared all combined. She knew what she had to do. Stay away from him.

"Coward", he mocked her, stepping forward, blocking her way. Someone else took his place in the queue but he didn't seem to care.

"I'm not a coward. I'm sensible. There's a difference."

"Coward", he repeated. "The sensible thing would be to get your food, then eat, then leave. Would have fooled me. But as long as you're running you're feeling something."

"I do not have feelings for you, Kro- _Dan_!" she said between gritted teeth.

"There's no Dan, you know", he replied. "Just me. Krotan of Mongo. And yet you're still looking at me the same way you looked at me when I was still Dan. What does that tell you, Jedda Walker?"

"That I'm an idiot who should check herself into a mental institution", she snapped. She gave him a long look. "It's the appearance. I wouldn't look at Krotan like I looked at Dan."

"Let's test that theory, shall we?"

Grinning, he tried to morph, but she was faster and grabbed his arm, nearly knocking him into an annoyed looking waitress.

"Don't you dare to morph in here with everybody watching!" she whispered, sending the waitress an apologetic glance.

"Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "I was just trying to prove my point."

"Stop proving points!" she hissed. "I just want you to leave me alone. I don't even know why you still try. You know that I know now who you really are. What makes you think you're going to have any success now? I'm a Defender. I'm the future of the Phantom legacy. I will not go around snogging Ming's son."

"And I am Krotan of Mongo, and I'm still trying to get into your pants", he grinned. "And somehow, I don't see my chances dwindling at all."

With a frustrated groan, she turned and walked away, hearing his laughter behind her until she had left the restaurant. Outside, she took a deep breath, than she pulled her phone from her bag. Rick answered almost immediately.

"Jedda? You okay?"

"Fine. Everything's fine", she quickly assured him. "And about that pizza thing, is that still on?"

"Yeah, April's just arrived and we're still waiting for Kate and LJ. You're in?"

"I'm in."

She was a Defender after all. And with the Defenders she belonged.


	19. Narrow Escape

**Project: **As a kid, Defenders of the Earth was my favorite show. And over the years, a project developed, which includes some new characters and new storylines as well as the original stuff from the TV show. You might want to check .com/ for more information about the new characters.

**Plot:** New episode guide (well, not finished yet), new luck. Didn't know what to write but wanted to write something, so here we go with the season finale for Season 1 (Episode 30), "Cry your name". Making tough choices in the heat of the battle is sometimes the hardest thing to do. Okay, I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter, to be honest. I always imagined the battle different while writing I noticed that it doesn't make much sense ...

**Disclaimer:** The original DoE characters do not belong to me and I'm not making any money with this story. I'm just having fun. The others characters present in this story are my very own which I created over the years for the DoE fandom and my own amusement.

**Narrow Escape**

"We need to get ourselves a ship. If we can't, we're doomed."

The temperatures were simply icy and even though they wore suitable winter clothing, it was still freezing as hell. Their feet felt like they'd grown stiff already despite them wearing warm and padded winter boots. But standing almost knee-deep in wet snow certainly didn't help. Neither did the freezing wind and the constantly falling thick snow which blinded them considerably. However, their colored clothing made them easy targets in the white winter landscape, with the weather slowing them down. Cathleen also slowed them down but nobody had dared to mention that.

"I'm cold", Kshin muttered, stumbling along behind them, blinded by the falling snow that the wind kept pushing in his face. If it hadn't been for LJ sometimes dragging him along, he would have given up already. This was no place for the little boy to be. But when he'd crept on board to join the adults in saving Cathleen he hadn't known how this would all turn out.

"We all are", Jedda replied, staggering through the snow. "But we can not afford to slow down. Flash is right. We need a ship."

"We need one fast", Lothar interjected, looking down at the pale and unconscious woman in his arms. Long dark curls framed her ghostly white skin, her eyes were closed and her clothes were soaked with blood. Her blood. "I don't think she's going to ..."

He didn't finish but they all got the unsaid message. They stumbled forward, and after five more minutes Flash started the conversation again.

"We need a ship. Otherwise we'll die out here. There's no point in returning to our own ship, it's useless now. We need to hijack one of Ming's."

"We don't even know our way back to Ming City", LJ sighed. "And I bet there aren't any space stations our here, conveniently waiting to be found by us. I agree, we need a ship. But we can't get one. We're done."

Nobody said anything in reply and Mandrake kept looking from Kshin, who kept stumbling along, to Cathleen, who was slowly dying. Nobody had said it out loud, but it was clear enough. Even with a ship at their disposal – Cathleen wouldn't survive the long flight to the nearest hospital on earth. They were thankful for each and every minute they still had with her, even though she wasn't even conscious. Cathleen O'Connor was a fighter. But this was a fight she was going to lose. Not even a miracle could save her now. Mandrake knew all this and yet part of him wanted to rush her to the nearest hospital, hoping for a doctor to perform a miracle.

Then suddenly there was another noise besides the howling of the wind and then through the snowfall they came, Ming's battleships, all purple and all dangerous, with ice robots flying them.

"Duck!" Lothar yelled, wrapping his strong arms tighter around Cathleen's fragile body. "Down! Try to hide yourself in the snow! Don't let them see us!"

Kshin threw himself into the wet snow and started to dig, trying to hide himself, but it was too late anyway. The others had realized it as soon as Lothar had finished and now Kshin noticed too. He stopped digging and slowly got up again, moving closer to Mandrake who tried to shield him with his body.

"They saw us", April whispered, her face as pale as the snow. "Now we're done for."

They started to shoot and everyone threw themselves down into the snow now, desperately trying to escape the deadly lasers. Their ship hadn't survived the shooting. Their bodies would neither. Then the shooting suddenly stopped and the biggest of the ships was apparently coming down to land.

"Seems like Ming wants us alive", Flash commented grimly. He turned around to look at his family and teammates but due to the heavy snowfall he couldn't even see all of them. But he made sure they heard him. "Listen, this is our one and only chance. They land, we fight. We still have our basic laser weapons. We can't shoot space ships out of the sky with them, but we can fight ice robots on the ground. We fight, we run, we escape."

"Using their big ship", Rick slowly nodded. "I like this plan, dad."

"Well, it's the only plan we have", Flash replied. "And the only chance. We fail, we're going to die. It's as simple as that."

"You have to give me cover", Lothar said. "I can't use my laser pistol while carrying Cathleen."

"Fine. The rest of you, use your weapons. Get ready. Kshin, stay close to Mandrake."

Kshin just nodded, still standing behind Mandrake. He didn't want to die. He just wanted to get out of this freezing hell. And he didn't want Cathleen to die. She'd been such a great friend to him during her last days as a Defender. Yes, she'd betrayed them but in the end she'd turned on Ming, hadn't she? So where Kshin was concerned, Cathleen was still an ally. And she didn't deserve to die.

There was no more time to waste. The ice robots came running from all directions, shooting their own laser pistols. The Defenders shot back and kept running. Flash took the lead and apparently he seemed to know what he was doing. Mandrake kept checking on Kshin who ran as fast as he could. Lothar was holding on to Cathleen, covered by both Rick and April who were both excellent shooters.

Then there was a dark mass somewhere in front of them and coming closer they saw that it was the big ship with Garax himself guarding it while his troops were out and about fighting the enemy.

And then it happened so fast. Kshin saw Flash and Garax in a battle while the Phantom started to use the power of ten tigers to join the fight and Mandrake was using an illusion to keep their persecutors at a distance. Then Lothar cried out and there he was on his knees with Cathleen lying in the snow in front of him, a picture of lifeless perfection. April cursed and now Rick, too, started to yell.

"Just the leg!" Lothar yelled, grabbing his own pistol now, firing in all directions.

"Get in the ship, get in the ship!" Phantom urged.

Garax was fighting LJ now and Flash was already on board the ship. He had the motors running and slowly the ship was in the air. Phantom was standing at the door, dragging Jedda and Rick in.

"Mandrake, get Kshin!" April shouted. "I'm going to help Lothar!"

This wasn't the time for illusions anymore. They came from every direction now and there were new ships in the sky, trying to prevent them from stealing the big ship. Mandrake shoved Kshin in Phantom's arms. A laser went by, only inches from his face. Despite his protests Phantom dragged him in too, yelling for LJ to follow Mandrake. April was both shooting and helping Lothar who could only hobble. LJ came over, taking his father's arm.

"Go get Cathleen!" he urged her.

Looking up, April realized that one of the ice robots was already beside Cathleen's body. There were several of them coming from that direction, aiming and shooting at her. She considered trying it anyway but there was nobody to give her any cover. She couldn't make it to Cathleen without getting shot at from all sides. Garax appeared at her side and she focused on him, trying to shoot him but missing him by inches. Then LJ was there, dragging her away with him and the Phantom pulled them both into the safety of the ship.

"Let's go, let's go!" Rick yelled.

Now that the ship was in the hands of the enemy the ice robots didn't hesitate anymore. They kept shooting at the ship.

"We can't leave Cathleen down there!" Kshin cried out, trying to run to one of the windows but Mandrake grabbed him and pushed him onto the seat next to the wounded Lothar. Mandrake said nothing. His face was ghostly white and the look in his eyes was frightening.

"There's nothing we can do for her now", April answered, trying to catch her breath. "She wouldn't have made it all the way back to earth and we all know it. They had her surrounded down there. If I had tried to ..."

"We know", the Phantom gently said. "If there would have been any chance of saving Cathleen, I would have tried myself."

"We'll return as soon as possible to ..." _fetch the body_ obviously was something LJ didn't want to say out loud, especially with both Lothar and Mandrake looking so full of hatred and pain.

They were high up in the air now and Flash was using the ship's laser system now to shoot back. Both April and Rick hurried to join their father in the cockpit.

"This is going to get ugly", Flash said.

No, it already was ugly. And Kshin had the nauseating feeling that this was only the beginning.


End file.
